The Ballad of Bambietta Basterbine
by Bring on the Boom
Summary: In the wake of the war between the quincy and the shinigami, one victim of the conflict finds herself pulled from the knife's edge of life and death by mere chance. Now Bambietta Basterbine must forge ahead, her fate in her hands alone. However, just as the future lies before her, so to does the quincy's blood stained past haunt her soul.
1. An Explosive Rebirth

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.**

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Death and destruction. That was all the world had become to a young girl. She had been happy once, there was no doubt of that. Loving parents, adoring relatives, friends earned throughout the years. Now it was gone, every last bit of it. Any shred of joy the world had offered the girl in question had been stripped away, leaving behind nothing but devastation.

"Momma... Poppa..."

Bambietta Basterbine was simply lying on the ground in complete disarray. Her appearance was ragged and worn, but that was to be expected of someone who had survived their own personal apocalypse. Her eyes stared blankly into the night sky, watching as the stars continued to dim and brighten at random. The glittering of the celestial bodies was all that gave her a glimmer of hope, the light within the darkness reaching out as if to calm her ravaged soul.

Bambietta felt like one of those stars, surrounded by the void of misery around her. She was amidst the rubble and wreckage that had once been her home town. Now all that remained of any building was a hollow shell, shattered and broken. Persistent flames scorched the landscape, licking at the darkened sky. Smoke arose from the carnage and slowly did it cloud the view, eclipsing any stars from Bambietta's sight. To her it was as if her earthly hell was cutting her off from anything that could bring her joy.

Slowly did the young girl stand, dusting off her torn and dirty clothes. She knew that staying still would accomplish nothing. She had to find help, whether here or in the next village over. However, tugging at Bambietta's heart was the hope that she was not the only one to be alive still, that she was not all alone in a village of the dead. However, she had seen too much in only a few short hours to allow any positive thoughts to dwell within her.

Those who had plagued the small town, those who had come with the express purpose to commit violence, they had broken Bambietta just as they had the village itself. She could still see it before her eyes, her parents confronting the intruders at their doorway. They had known their time was at an end but they had fought to their last breaths to protect their daughter, to give her the time to run.

They were dead so that she could live, but Bambietta could not fathom the depths of their sacrifice.

"We should be..." Bambietta brought her dusty and dirty knuckles to her face, furiously wiping away any tears that began to cloud her vision. "We should be a family still..."

Bambietta's teeth came together tightly, a dreadful emotion beginning to well up within her. Sadness and sorrow gave way to rage. The young girl's fingers curled into the palms of her hands so tightly that trace amounts of blood began to seep through her small fists.

"I hate..." she hissed through gritted teeth. "I hate this world... " Bambietta's voice lowered then into nothing more than a faint whimper. "They... they died for me..."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that their sacrifices will be in vain, my precious."

Bambietta felt a chill run up her spine, the raspy voice whispering directly into her ear. She could feel the heavy breath of whoever had spoken those haunting words. In return, her heart skipped a beat. Her breathing becoming rapid and erratic, Bambietta turned slightly to face her stalker. Scared as she was, she was prepared to face the ones who had killed her parents. She would stare death in the face if need be. However, nothing could prepare Bambietta for what she was about to look directly in the eyes.

The young girl's face came awash with fright as her eyes locked with two burning red orbs. They shone brightly from within the sockets of a stark white mask, one that was clasped to a creature that was jet black in color.

"What... what are you?"

It was not the first time Bambietta had seen a monster such as this. For years she had caught sight of such creatures out of the corners of her eyes, sometimes away in the distance, other times skulking outside the house. One such night she had awoken in a cold sweat, unsure as to why, only to find a beast similar to this one standing on a nearby rooftop, its profile illuminated by the light of the moon. That time especially had Bambietta brought the subject up with her parents, but they had spoken of it only as their daughter possessed an overactive imagination, nothing more. Eventually did Bambietta believe that to be the truth as well.

Now, however, she was sure that the creatures she had been seeing were as real as anything else.

"So... you can see and hear me, huh?" A voice projected from within the monster's unmoving mask as its tail whipped around casually behind it. "Then my journey to this place was not a waste after all."

"Journey?"

"Violence and death, misery and despair," the creature all but hissed, a certain perverse satisfaction in its voice, "it's like catnip to me, girlie. Even when I was a living human being I was innately drawn to such terrible, terrible things."

Bambietta had no idea how to respond to such a statement, her body still shivering in fright.

"I was hoping to find a few stranglers to kill and consume," the monster continued, "but it seems like the people who ravaged this town were quite thorough. Humans after my own heart I suppose. Up until I spotted you, all I've come across is dismembered corpses. Ah well. Quality over quantity I suppose."

"Quality?"

"There is a power in you, girlie, whether you know it or not," the monster continued, its eyes beaming with delight. "Otherwise you would not be aware of my presence so readily. And if there's one thing I enjoy more than playing with my food, it's snuffing out a flame before it can achieve its full potency."

Then suddenly did the creature move its face in closer to Bambietta's own, its inhuman eyes boring into her own with their hellish glow.

"Now run."

"What?"

"It's no fun if my prey doesn't put up a little 'fight.' So run, damn it!"

Despair and misery, it was what had led this monster to Bambietta, the feelings overwhelming her. Now however they were competing with sheer terror and fear. She turned away from the twisted beast, breaking into a stride, each one taking her as far as her young legs would allow.

"Yes, yes," she could hear the monster cackle in pure rapture. "Run, girlie, run!"

Bambietta's heart felt as if it was threatening to burst out of her chest, to end her life in such a manner as if to prevent any further suffering. However she remembered well the words her father had spoken to her so many times in the past. _"There are only two kinds of fights that matter,"_ he had said with hints of both a commanding and gentle tone. _"Those where you fight to protect yourself and those where you fight to protect others. Any other reason to fight would be uncivilized. The fundamental difference between them is that in the first case you must fight to live. If you die, it was all for nothing. But in the second, your life is secondary in importance compared to those you are protecting."_

He had always said that Bambietta would understand when she was older, when she took on the family business, whatever it was. However, despite her youth, she had grasped the importance of her father's words. They had died to protect her and now she was going to die if she could not protect herself. Yet there was more to it than that. The monster had said it itself.

"If I die like this," Bambietta whispered to herself, "Momma and Poppa will be gone for nothing."

Bambietta continued her running but she glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough the monster was approaching her, but it was a disturbingly lazy pursuit. Bambietta could see it in full now. The creature was slender in appearance, the back of its head stretched in an utterly inhuman shape, its tail fluttering in the night air as it slowly approached her in a hunched over state. It was utterly alien in appearance, a nightmare brought into the realm of reality.

It was all a game to the twisted creature, Bambietta knew that well, but she was not going to allow herself to play into its clawed hands any longer. However she knew there was nothing she could truly do to fight, to survive. She cursed at her helplessness, her heart begging for the power to save herself.

Then, as if in response to desperation, something began to happen. Trace amounts of blue light began to waver around her right hand, little specks of energy encircling her fingers until at last they began to take form and substance. Bambietta continued her run, sweat pouring down her face as her heart beat faster and faster, but she spared a glance towards whatever strange shape was glowing in her hand.

"A... a bow?"

It was strange, but not entirely new to the young girl. It was a far off memory but she could remember seeing her mother once wielding such a power in her hands. It had been a beautiful sight to an even younger girl who had casually peeked out her bedroom window only to see her mother firing off bolts of blue light towards distant targets on the field behind the house.

None of it made sense to Bambietta but she knew it was her only chance for survival. She turned then, facing the monster as she raised her arm and the makeshift bow up high. With her free hand she pulled against the light that made up the drawstring, an arrow of blue light forming from more encircling energy.

"What the hell?" the monster bellowed, stopping in its tracks. "Oh, I know what you are now, girlie! Yes, this will be a most delightful meal tonight!" The creature motioned towards Bambietta in a condescendingly manner. "Give it your best shot! I dare you! Come on! Hit me with your best shot!"

This monster knew more of Bambietta than she did of herself. This power was unknown to her, but it seemed to be acting on instinct and desperation and she knew she would be a fool to not use it. She let the arrow fly then, aiming as best she could.

It struck home, a portion of the monster's shoulder exploding in a mass of dismembered flesh and blood. The creature stumbled back a step, one of its clawed hands gripping down on the wound as the green liquid that was its blood seeped outwards.

"You've got to shoot straight, but clearly that... isn't good enough," it hissed. "Yes, I love it when you meals fight back. It just makes the kill all the more delightful!"

Then, as if the wound meant nothing at all, the monster pounced upon Bambietta, covering the distance between them both in a single, terrified heartbeat. Its hands clasped down upon Bambietta's wrists, forcing her back to the charred ground. The beast pinned her down then and there, crouching over her prone body as it did so.

Bambietta tried to struggle, to fight back, but she could see the bow of light fading away, as if she could no longer provide it with enough power. "No! I won't... I won't die like this!"

"Yes, yes!" The monster's voice was full of nothing but twisted joy. "Cry and squeal! Beg for mercy that I won't give! The night is still so very young, so make this a meal worth remembering!"

Bambietta's eyes were blazing with fear and rage then, her voice cracking as she gave into the monster's request of her own volition. "The whole point of fighting is that you don't want to die! That you'll be killed if you lose! And I... I don't want to die!"

"That's too bad... for you!" the monster screamed in return. It lowered its mask down over Bambietta's own face and only then did the white countenance itself crack open, revealing a hellish mouth underneath, one that was smiling. Saliva dripped from it, falling upon Bambietta's face. "Your soul is mine!"

Bambietta closed her eyes, all the while her body continued to tremble. Yet still she continued to thrash about wildly. Bambietta was unwilling to give in without a fight, no matter how meaningless it was. "Momma... Poppa... I'm sorry..."

The monster's mouth opened wide and began to lower itself further down towards Bambietta. Then, quite suddenly, it stopped. "Who the hell are you?"

Bambietta slowly opened her eyes then and she could see that the monster was staring straight away from her. Curious, Bambietta turned her head as best she could, following the creature's line of sight. What she saw made her heart nearly leap out of her chest, not in fright but under the duress of hope.

There, among the broken battlements, was a man on horseback. His steed was pure white, as if its purity could not be questioned. The man himself, however, was entirely different in his nature. He wore a uniform of the same matching purity, but over it was a cloak that seemed to dance about, as if it was made of pure darkness and possessing a life of its own. His face was worn and rugged, a thick mustache that matched the wild and long black hair that framed his chiseled features.

"Another spiritual being, eh?" the monster questioned with pure delight. "Today really is a red letter day. Allow me to finish with this girlie then I'll make a meal out of you, old man!"

The newcomer said nothing, instead his right hand simply let go of the horse's harness and rose up high. For a moment nothing seemed to happen and Bambietta had to wonder just what he was hoping to accomplish. Then, quite suddenly, did she hear the monster scream in pain, a portion of its green blood splattering upon her. She felt the beast let go of her then as it leapt back.

Bambietta sat up quickly and stared at the creature. Blood was oozing from its torso, a large blue arrow of light piercing straight through it. It was then that it quickly dawned on the young girl. She looked back at the man, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"He's like Momma. He's like me."

The monster, meanwhile, was screaming in rage as the arrow that had assault it faded, leaving behind only the injury. "Time heals all wounds! This isn't over! I will kill you for your interference, you bastard!"

It leapt away, fading into the shadows from whence it had come, its eyes the last thing to disappear from sight. Bambietta was then left alone with this mysterious stranger on horseback and she was unsure of what to make of any of it.

The man continued to say nothing as he dismounted from his steed. He began to walk towards Bambietta, each step of his boots sounding like thunder. The young girl was not sure if it was reality or just a part of her imagination, her mind still processing all that had happened.

"Are you all right?" the man asked as he knelt down beside Bambietta, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was warm and gentle to the touch, something that left the young girl in surprise. He hardly looked the part of a savior, his features giving off the impression that he was a conqueror, a fighter and nothing more.

"No, no I'm not." Bambietta answered honestly as she looked into the man's eyes. She was not sure why she had acted as such, but there was just something about him that compelled her to speak the truth of her heart. "My parents are dead, my home destroyed and that thing tried to kill me..."

"A hollow, yes," the man said. "A demon born out of humanity's worst sins."

"A... hollow?" Bambietta repeated. She began to wonder then who or what this man was. "Are you an angel?"

A low chuckle emanated from within the older man before he spoke once more. "No. God has no power here or anywhere. I am here of my own volition."

Bambietta was unsure of how to respond to that statement.

"Look around you," the man said. "Your world burns you while those who 'serve' the Soul King allow these tragedies to occur again and again."

"The Soul... King?" The girl knew not of what this man was referring to and she gave voice to that confusion.

"What amounts to 'God,' though it... he... is nothing more than a puppet. Those who pretend to be under his rule, believe themselves to be the gods of death itself. Yet they are unworthy of such responsibility. This town is proof enough of that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you think this chaos was caused by human hands?" the man asked, his tone low but stern. "This was no act of random evil, but a specific action orchestrated by a meticulous and cruel individual."

"Who would do this on purpose?" Bambietta asked, her eyes shifting around and taking in the fires and wreckage, the scattering of a few dead bodies amidst it all. "That hollow?"

"No," the man said as he closed his eyes for but a moment. "That would be expected but this was no scavenging of food or random act of cruelty. This was an attack on those who carry my lineage... on the quincy itself."

It was yet another term that Bambietta did not quite recognize. "quincy?"

"Surely you must know," the man replied. "You are a quincy. Your parents, your friends, all those who lived here... were quincy."

Bambietta did not quite understand, but she had inkling, a feeling. The lessons her father had drilled into her, the strange bow that both she and her mother had produced, was that a part of being a quincy?

"You are destined to be a part of something greater," the man in white said as his arm slipped out from beneath his shadowy cloak. He gently placed his palm atop Bambietta's head, ruffling her dark hair slightly. "You who carry on my sacred lineage, you who survived when those around you were incapable of doing so. You have cast off this worthless and harsh world, proving your worth."

"Who are you?" Bambietta asked, the man's words tearing at her very being. She had said it herself earlier, that she hated this world as it was and here was a man, old enough to have seen much of existence, and he was agreeing with her.

"You may call me Yhwach."

"Yhwach..." Bambietta was unsure of what to make of that name. She could swear that she had heard it before at one point or another, perhaps from either her parents or fellow villagers. However, it simply was not important to her at this point. This man, this Yhwach, was the only living soul she had seen since her parents murder before her very eyes. Her lips began to tremble, tears welling up in her eyes. "Save me, please. I don't don't want to die here all alone..."

"My child born born in the light," Yhwach said in a comforting tone as his hand slipped off of Bambietta's head and onto her shoulder, "you have been offered and earned your salvation. Never again shall you be alone or hurt by those you should have been able to trust."

For the first time this evening was Bambietta able to smile. She looked up at Yhwach, and while his face was impassive, it still put the young girl at ease. "Thank you."

"Do not offer your thanks to me just yet."

Yhwach stepped away from Bambietta and made his way towards the wreckage of one of the houses. He took from it the scattered remains of wood that had once been a part of its frame. He returned then, scattering the broken shards on the ground before him. Yhwach knelt down then, using two pieces of wood to give birth to a flame. As the fire forced away the darkness, it cast a scattering glow across Yhwach's face.

"Tonight shall be your initiation, Bambietta Basterbine. You have caught my interest but you have yet to prove your worth. If you do that, we will set out in the morning to your new home. Perhaps sooner if I am right about you. For now we rest. Approach me when you are ready."

Yhwach moved towards the damaged shack beside him and he sat down, leaning his back against it. His eyes shut then, as if signaling that he was entering a deep slumber. Bambietta glanced over and could see that the horse he had arrived on was doing the same. It was almost eerie to see them so in sync with one and another.

"Prove myself worthy?"

Bambietta did not know what this man meant by that but she was desperate to do just as he desired. She did not want to die or to live alone. She knelt down by the fire, allowing its warmth to chase away any cold or numbness that nipped at her tiny frame. She stared at the flames, wincing slightly. It was a source of life, of salvation, and yet it only reminded Bambietta of the carnage that had taken everything from her.

"I will... I will fight..." she whispered underneath her breath, remembering well the values her parents had instilled upon her. She wondered then, had they wanted her to follow in their footsteps, to become a true quincy? She had so many questions that they could never answer now, a fact that once more led to tears streaming down Bambietta's face.

"You're emotions," Yhwach suddenly said, never opening his eyes, "they are both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness."

Bambietta sat up then, peering over the fire at Yhwach. "My parents are dead. Excuse me for being emotional."

"That's what I wanted to hear." Yhwach suddenly opened his eyes, a grin appearing from beneath his mustache. "No tears, only anger. A feisty quincy would be most worthy of my power. Come here."

Bambietta stood then and began to walk towards the man. She was unsure of why she listened to him so readily. Despite his promises, there was still something unnerving about him. The name especially, that Bambietta kept dwelling on. She could have sworn she had heard it before.

"I wished to perform this rite back among those who will become your family," Yhwach said as he opened his tunic and exposed the pale flesh of his chest, "but as your death has occurred among this ocean of flame, so to shall your rebirth."

"What are you doing?" Bambietta asked as she came ever closer and then knelt down before Yhwach.

"You who possess my lineage of power," Yhwach answered, his tone becoming lower as he spoke every word, "shall now inherit my blood."

Yhwach moved his left hand towards his bare chest almost gracefully. Then, without a moment's hesitation, his fingers tore against the flesh, drawing copious amounts of blood. Bambietta's skin began to crawl at the sight of the wound, yet still she felt a strange yearning towards the red liquid that began to ooze from Yhwach's chest.

"My heart, stopped for so long," Yhwach continued, "beats nothing but pure power. Take a portion of it for yourself and become what you choose to be."

Yhwach's left hand extended out towards Bambietta, as if inviting her towards the blood that adorned his fingertips. It was a horrifying sight, but the young girl felt the need to do what he said. Having been beckoned to do so, she moved in close, her small hands wrapping around Yhwach's own.

"Yes, my child," Yhwach said softly, "become one of my star lights and stand out from the darkness of the shinigamis."

Bambietta's tongue extended from her mouth, lapping up trace amounts of the blood from Yhwach's fingers, his blood seeping into her very being almost instantly. "The power... your power... it fills me... flows through me..."

"Take all that I offer."

Unaware of what truly was coming over her, Bambietta did just that. She pushed aside Yhwach's arm and forced her face against his chest, her tongue lapping up the rivulets of blood that seeped from his wound. She consumed it, both the liquid of life and the power it contained. As she continued the rite of passage, the horse that Yhwach had arrived upon began to buck wildly, a high pitched neigh roaring from its lungs as the fires around the village grew for a moment, very learning eclipsing all that was around them.

Then, finally did Bambietta step away from Yhwach, her lips stained with scarlet. She stared blankly at him, unsure of what she had just subjected herself to. However, before she could speak again, Yhwach's left hand came into contact with her, his fingers splaying across her chest.

"My newest star, shine your brightest," he said, his voice a low whisper. "Upon your spiritual form I shall inscribe a piece of my soul, an epithet that shall suit your true nature."

Bambietta's body came alive with a pale blue light, her breathing becoming ragged as she felt something altering within her. It was equal parts terrifying and joyous, leaving her wanting more. Then, as fast as it had begun, did it end. The pillar of light faded and Yhwach removed his hand from her chest.

"And so is a new Stern Ritter born into this failed world. We shall remake it, Stern Ritter E, Bambietta Basterbine of the Explode."

"The Explode?" Again the young girl was more confused than satisfied by Yhwach's words. "What did you do to me?"

"You were chosen by destiny to inherit a portion of my power, of my very soul," Yhwach answered simply. "There is nothing more to understand."

"The hell there isn't!" Bambietta suddenly yelled as she wiped away the remaining blood from her mouth. "What the hell is a quincy? A hollow? A Stern Ritter? Who the hell are you? Who's responsible for my parents' death? Answer me, damn it!"

Pale light began to expand outwards from Bambietta's body as she screamed, her rage reaching its peak. However, to his credit, Yhwach did not even flinch. Instead he simply smiled. "Yes, let the rage flow through you just as my blood does now. Let it empower you!"

Bambietta's small hands curled into fists as she threw back her head, a scream of utter despair and anger escaping from her. The pale light surrounded her body tore at the ground beneath her. Small orbs of that power fired off from the energy, striking the already damaged buildings, causing them to burst apart from explosions that came to life upon impact.

Then it stopped, the light dissipating as Bambietta began to gasp wildly, her body shivering. She gasped for several minutes on end, unsure of everything that was transpiring. Sweat poured down her face, her body feeling somewhat weak. "This power..."

"Hone your emotions, your rage," Yhwach said, "and it will serve the Explode well."

Silence followed for several more minutes, Yhwach giving Bambietta time to adjust, to understand. However, his hand was forced sooner than he expected and so did he speak once more.

"And now begins your first trial begins."

Bambietta suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, a familiar sensation from not that long ago. She turned then and could see the hollow from earlier. It was standing atop a husk of a building, the dying lights of fire fading around it.

"I told you I wasn't finished with you two quincy," it hissed as it hunched over, its long tail beginning to uncurl and rise into the air. "Especially you, girlie."

Bambietta felt fear seize hold of her heart and she took a step back in response. The wounds that the hollow had received earlier were gone, its body whole once again. It had simply retreated to lick its wounds, nothing more, and now it had returned to finish what it had started.

Yet still Bambietta was not truly worried. The young girl knew she had a protector at her side, one who could easily fell this monster once and for all. So she slipped behind Yhwach, peeking out from behind his shoulder, her fingers tugging at the shadowy cloak that he wore.

"This is your trial, your battle," Yhwach said, clear disappointment evident in his voice. "Stand and fight, Stern Ritter E."

"But you could end this so easily," Bambietta whimpered, her fingers curling tightly into the cape that was Yhwach's own, her whole body trembling as she did so. "Please..."

"Your parents died to save you," Yhwach replied, his voice betraying his exhaustion. "Do you wish the same of me? My power is great, but even I have my limits at this point in my life. Away from my homeland for so long in search of you, having given you a portion of my soul... It will be some time before my reiryoku will return to its full potency. This is your first trial, Bambietta Basterbine. Do not disappoint me."

The hollow tilted its elongated head slightly, its blazing eyes focusing intently on Bambietta. "You better listen to that old fart of a quincy, girlie. I want to play and unless you're fighting, you can't play. And if you don't play... well, death is inevitable either way!"

The hollow leapt down to the ground and began to move towards Yhwach and Bambietta on all fours, its tail whipping about frantically. Bambietta stayed behind the older man, unsure of what to do. If he was speaking the truth, then she was on her own. If he was lying simply to force her hand, to make her fight, then the end result was the same.

However it was in that moment that Bambietta could once more hear her father's words whispering within her thoughts, as if giving her the strength to defend herself from beyond the grave.

_"... You must fight to live. If you die, it was all for nothing."_

Bambietta's hands slowly began to stop shaking. Her fingers unclenched from Yhwach's cloak and slowly did she stand. She walked around the man wrapped in shadow, her body's trembling beginning to cease.

"That's the spirit!" the hollow eyed Bambietta curiously, its tail moving over its shoulder and pointing towards her. "Oh yes... I am going to enjoy this..."

The tail suddenly extended rapidly, its tip arcing toward Bambietta like a dagger. She instinctively leapt to the side, but it was not enough. Under the hollow's full control the appendage circled back, ensnaring the young girl's throat. It wrapped around her tightly, very nearly chocking the life out of Bambietta as she was dragged into the air. She coughed as she struggled, trying to pry the tail off her neck with both hands, her legs kicking and dangling helplessly.

"So much spirit," the hollow said as it rose to its full height and retracted its tail, bringing Bambietta close to it. The monster reached out with one hand, a talon slowly creeping ever closer to Bambietta. It made contact then, right above a knee and slowly did the hollow trace a path up Bambietta's body, stopping once it came close to her chest. The talon dug into cloth, tearing until it exposed the flesh around one of Bambietta's collarbones.

"I can hear it, feel it," the creature cackled. "Your heart is just about ready to burst from your chest out of fear. Am I right? You try to look tough, girlie, but your heart beats for me still. Perhaps I should claim it for my own..."

A talon pierced Bambietta's flesh, drawing a faint amount of blood. She screamed in agony, her thrashing growing more wild and frantic. Her lips curled back in agony, her teeth grinding as she stared down at the hollow with wide eyes.

"I'm not... going to die tonight..." she growled, her awakening rage beginning to overwhelm the pain she felt. "Not to you!"

"Yes, fight back some more!" the hollow screamed with apparent ecstasy, its talon continuing to draw blood with each and every subtle movement. "Die fighting and make this a kill worth remembering!"

"The whole point of fighting is that you don't want to die!" Bambietta shouted, her eyes beginning to grow bloodshot. "That you'll be killed if you lose! If you throw your life away in battle, what's the point in winning?"

Bambietta began to scream at the top of her lungs, the powerful light of a quincy encircling her body once again. Around her formed a column of light, one that pierced the heavens in the form of a cross. The hollow's tail, enveloped in the fiery power, began to burst apart. The creature stumbled back in utter agony in response, having never expected such retaliation.

"You stupid bitch!" it howled as it looked at the cauterized stump at the halfway point of its tail, signifying what the hollow had just lost. Wounds it could heal, but never before had the hollow worried about what would happen if a part of it was reduced to little more than dust. "You maimed me!"

The column of light faded then, leaving Bambietta in the hollow's sight. Its tail was gone, no longer able to keep her suspended, but the young girl was still hovering in midair. From her back extended wings of pure energy, a matching halo above the crown of her head.

"What the hell is this?" the hollow screamed frantically as it took several steps back, nearly falling in the process. "What the hell kind of quincy are you?"

Yhwach watched the transformation with a keen eye, clearly impressed by the spectacle. "No formal training and yet still you activate vollstandig under duress. Your emotions make you a true prodigy. Well done, Stern Ritter E."

The young girl was confused by her power, her transformation, but she knew what it was worth, what it meant. The hollow had no power over her. Not now, not ever. This was her chance to take her life back. Her chance to fight, to claim control over her destiny once more.

"You," she said as she raised an index finger towards the hollow. "Your angel of death has arrived."

"You, kill me?" the hollow ranted, its mind on the verge of snapping from sheer frustration. A laugh emanating from beneath its mask, its shoulders shaking from the maddened emotion. "Don't you screw with me, girlie!"

The hollow went on the attack, rearing back its right hand before plunging the five talons towards Bambietta. The newly christened Stern Ritter, however, did not flinch in the least. Her eyes were deadly calm as she kept close watch of the hollow, her reiatsu building within her outstretched hand. She hated this world and this hollow, but at the same time she pitied them both. Bambietta had found it then, the place between pure tranquility and anger personified, her power at its peak. At her total command did orbs of pure reiryoku slip away from her fingertips, impacting the charging hollow with pinpoint accuracy. The attacks pushed it back, but nothing more as far as the monster could surmise.

"The hell was that supposed to be, girlie? You can't hope to beat me like tha-"

Then did the hollow's body explode from the inside out, raining dismembered portions of it in every direction. Green blood splashed against Bambietta, but her vollstandig simply burnt the liquid to nothingness, leaving her untainted by the hollow's remains. A scrap of its mask fell before Bambietta, the white shard bursting just as the creature had. It too had been a victim of the Explode.

Then and only then did Bambietta's power fade. Her wings and halo vanished slowly, allowing her feet to gently touch down on the ground. She stood there for a moment, unwilling and unable to say anything. A lone tear inched down her face, spawning from her right eye. Rage, violence and death. This was her life now and forevermore. The young girl who had enjoyed nothing more than life itself was no more, instead replaced by a quincy who had been transformed by the sheer brutality of the world itself. In the flames of destruction she had risen like a phoenix, reborn as more than human. Or perhaps... less?

"You did well," Yhwach said as he placed a hand upon Bambietta's shoulder from behind. "I came here to find any quincy remaining in the mortal world and while I am disheartened by the passing of more of our kind, I am elated to have found one such as you."

"You said someone did this intentionally," Bambietta asked, ignoring Yhwach's praise. "That this was no random act of cruelty. Tell me who and why."

"As you wish." Yhwach moved around Bambietta, standing in front of her and looking the young girl directly in the eyes. "This was the work of shinigamis. They are meant to protect the mortals from the hollows, but they were not capable of saving everyone. The mortal quincy took it upon themselves to offer protection to the word. However, the shinigamis did not approve and killed the quincy at every turn. Theirs is the wrath of jealous gods, nothing more. Even now, when my children live in peace, does one shinigami in particular kill and kidnap them for reasons I dare not contemplate. Those under his command came here disguised as humans, hoping that the quincy would not fight back to their fullest if they were being assaulted by those under their protection."

"shinigamis." Bambietta said the term under her breath, very nearly biting down on her lower lip to contain herself. "They killed my parents? My friends? Everyone? I..."

"This world is not what it should be," Yhwach said gently as he placed his hand atop Bambietta's head once again. "But that will change soon. Now that I am once more reborn into this world, I shall remake it. Peace shall reign supreme."

"Reborn?" Bambietta's eyes widened, remembering at last why this man's name seemed so familiar. She recalled it well, something her mother had said to ease her into sleep when she was so much younger. "The Sealed King will regain his heartbeat after nine hundred years. The Sealed King will then regain his intellect after ninety years. From that, the Sealed King will then regain his power after nine years. Yhwach will be reborn."

Bambietta had considered it nothing more than a strange lullaby, but it was clear now that the Sealed King was before her. She was in the presence of what she had considered nothing more than a simple fairy tale. This, however, was a living legend. A deity in the flesh, his power eternal and offering her salvation.

"You know of the Kaiser Gesang," Yhwach said simply. "Do you wish to learn the last stanza of the Emperor's Song? Then come with me and all will be made clear in due time."

Bambietta looked over her shoulder, giving one last gaze towards what was left of her former life. She knew then that there was truly no choice in the matter. The life she had lived was gone now, consumed in fire and cast away through blood. She turned back and looked up towards Yhwach once more.

"I am your faithful follower now and forever," Bambietta said with a half-hearted smile, "your majesty."

Yhwach smiled slightly. He then turned away from Bambietta, keeping a hand on her shoulder. His other hand waved out, focusing on the shadows that stretched across a disheveled building. A strange light beckoned from it and he began to walk towards the shade, guiding his young charge towards it as well. A slight whistle from Yhwach's lips alerted his horse of his attentions.

"Your services are no longer required, my loyal steed. You are free to go."

As if on command the horse began to gallop away, leaving the village behind. Only once it had slipped from sight did Yhwach return to walking Bambietta towards the inviting shadows.

"Where are we going?" Bambietta asked, slightly nervous.

"Home."

The two quincy stepped into the shadows, disappearing from the mortal world. As she bid farewell to her old life and welcomed the new, Bambietta shivered slightly. A low whisper was all she could muster so as to not draw attention from Yhwach.

"Momma... Poppa... I'll keep on living... just like you wanted..."


	2. The Knife's Edge

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.**

* * *

Time moved on, individuals grew older, life having worn away at their fragile hearts and souls. One such individual was simply tainted by the surrounding darkness, her very being forfeit to the evils of the world. She fought for the thrill, for the pleasure of the hunt. Yet most importantly she fought to live. Now, however, she had given up that fight.

"Momma... Poppa... I'm coming..."

Living or dying, Bambietta Basterbine had no idea where she truly existed on the scales of existence. Hers was a status beyond the comprehension of her addled state. Her thoughts were clouded, her heart drained of any true meaning. To a Stern Ritter whose power was fueled by her emotions, that in itself was a fate worse than death. All she knew was that she was crawling towards death's door and the relief that its opening would bring to her was wholly desired.

She had started this day in good spirits. Stepping forth as a part of the first wave of quincy to assault the shinigami for the second time in under a week. To fight those who had stolen from her both her innocence and her parents was a joy she could never truly explain.

Then there had been defeat. Utter and inexorable. Battered by an incomprehensibly strong giant, her power turned against her until her body was nothing more than a charred husk. Death was beckoning to her then, but her rage had left her gasping for life, something she had regretted not long after. For that was when they had arrived.

Giselle Gewelle, Liltotto Lamperd, Candice Catnipp and Meninas McAllon. Fellow Stern Ritter but more importantly friends. Then traitors and devils in Bambietta's eyes. Giselle's hand had pierced flesh and bone, tearing from Bambietta's chest her heart. A fitting action for someone who had betrayed her trust.

Anything after that was underneath a foggy haze. Bambietta had been reborn for the second time in her life then, her heart returned so that she would be nothing more than a creature that was forced to exist underneath Giselle's will. Her power, her schrift, had made Bambietta nothing more than a zombie in both body and mind. She had become an empty husk of a human being, forced into subservience to one whom she had trusted with her camaraderie.

Used and abused, scarred and damaged in battle, Bambietta was left to rot among the broken battlements that now littered the Soul Society. She was down among the dead men, both shinigami and quincy, her fate no longer a concern to those she had fought against and beside. The only true solace Bambietta could take was in the one memory that brought forth a slight hint of a smile to her bloodied lips. That Yhwach had betrayed the quincy just as they had her. The light of the auschwalen had rained down from the sky, killing or stealing the strength from those who still engaged the shinigami in battle, no doubt to empower his majesty in an even more important battle high atop the heavens.

Bambietta could see it clearly, that Giselle had survived the extermination, but she was no longer at her full strength. And with the schrift of the Zombie no longer in full effect, Bambietta was free to truly die.

She stared then up into the light blue sky, content with what she was seeing. She had been close to giving in to death once before, the dark night her only view. Then she had been strong in spirit, strong enough to withstand the haunting call of eternal rest. Now was different. Life had broken her spirit far too much. Back then she had found a little ray of hope in the stars that dotted the sky but now she knew better. The darkness was eternal, while even the stars would burn out and become lost to time.

That fateful day she had been promised a new family, a new home, but it too was all gone now. It had not been taken from her like the last; no, it had betrayed her on every possible level. To Yhwach she had been expendable. To Giselle and the others the same. Bambietta knew it then, that she should have accepted her death so many years earlier. It would have been true kindness from the world to end it quick than prolong her suffering with lies and promises of a better life. The world had spent the years following her renewal devising a creative end to her plight, that much she could ascertain now.

Bambietta's thoughts were unfocused, her state unnatural, but still she had to wonder one simple thing: would she see her parents on the other side?

"No..." she whispered hoarsely.

She had given up that chance, that hope, once she had subjected herself to Yhwach's rule. Her entrance into paradise had been forfeit the moment she had tasted the blood of Yhwach. She had once been an innocent, her parents hoping to someday make her a quincy who would defend the people, but in the end she had become nothing more than a murderer. Shinigami, hollows and even her fellow quincy if the mood struck her; she had killed time and time again.

Having been forced to grow up so young, Bambietta had not spoken to the memory of her parents in so very long. Now, however, she could not help herself. She rose up her right arm, the darkened skin corrupted by the little that remained of Giselle's blood, and she wondered if it was even her own. She had lost an arm in the previous battle, one that Giselle had repaired with her twisted power of co-opting the remains of the nearby dead and deceased. She had stolen another's flesh, bone and sinew, remolding and remaking it all to replace what her servant had lost. Bambietta's thoughts and memories slowed when it came to the short term, she was not even quite sure which arm it had been that had been lost and replaced.

Nonetheless she reached out towards the blazing sun that hung in the sky above the Soul Society, tears streaming down from her undead eyes and slipping into the devastated pavement beneath her. For yes, even a true devil that fancied itself an angel could cry if given the proper motivation.

'Momma... Poppa... I'm sorry that you... died for nothing..."

Bambietta's arm began to quiver slightly then, rigor mortis at last taking effect. The stars would fade, yes, but so too would the sun, any sun, in time. Darkness was the true state of being, light just an aberration. Bambietta understood that truly now as she found herself on the edge. Her limb started its fateful descent, falling down towards the ground as the life began to drain from the disheveled quincy at long last.

Then, quite suddenly, Bambietta's arm was held in place. A pale hand had gripped down on the blood red flesh, a strange black nail extending well past one of its fingers.

"My, my..." a voice said with a shrill cackle, "this is interesting."

Bambietta glanced weakly to the hand, following the path of its arm until she was staring at a man she felt possessed the most garish taste in fashion. He was clad in a stark white robe that had been fashioned as if to appear like the rays of the sun were beaming from the opening in the hood. The man's face was smothered in black paint, leaving Bambietta to wonder what madness had come to great her for one final farewell.

"Wait..." she whispered, realization finally taking hold of her mind. "Giselle... made me fight you..."

"If you want to call that a fight," the man said, "but let's be honest with both ourselves, zombie girl, it was hardly a contest you could win."

"Who... the hell... are you?"

"You will show Master Mayuri the proper respect," a woman in a short black kimono said with little trace of emotion as she approached both Bambietta and the man in question. "This is Captain Kuro-"

The man's free hand suddenly swung out, catching the dark haired woman across the face, completely interrupting her statement. Despite her receding energy, Bambietta cringed at the sight of the abuse, a most recent memory of Giselle entering her thoughts.

"Nemu!" the man, clearly the shinigami captain that been almost introduced, screamed in a rage. "How many times must I tell you to speak only when spoken to? You should know full well that I am perfectly capable of introducing myself to any poor soul that does not know of my greatness!"

"I'm sorry, Master Mayuri." Nemu said without a trace of anger at her pain. She simply stepped away without another word, leaving the captain and the quincy alone.

Bambietta's voice cracked then, her words short and concise whether she wanted them to be or not. "Shinigami..."

"Yes, I am such," the man said, his attention turning back to the dying quincy. "Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the Twelth Division."

"Just let me die... in peace..." Bambietta said softly, unable to do much more than that. "Or kill me... quick..."

"I fail to see how you're in a position to make demands of me," the captain said sharply. "Foolish little quincy. Now hush as I make demands of you."

Bambietta whimpered slightly then, realizing that fate would not grant her a calm death, not even now after all she had been through. Life was simply far too cruel to make for such allowances it seemed.

"That ally of yours," Captain Kurotsuchi began to say, "she has made quite a mess of things on both sides-"

"My... ally? Giselle? No... not any-"

"Hush, I say!" The Captain's fingers suddenly wrapped around Bambietta's jaw, covering her mouth forcibly. "I will hear no dissenting opinions from a living dead girl!"

Bambietta's eyes began to tear up then, the quincy wondering if she would ever find a moment of happiness before her inevitable passing.

"Now then," the shinigami captain said once again, his expression impossible for the Stern Ritter to read, "your 'ally' has infected her fair share of shinigami with that peculiar Zombie power of hers and that just won't do. I was able to free them from her control by making them puppets of my own, but I doubt very much the current captain commander would appreciate my gaining control of the Third, Ninth and Tenth Divisions through proxy. Therefore I need to cure all of them of the zombie infliction altogether. However, again I suspect that the captain commander would be cross with me if I were to experiment on them and cause unforeseen complications. Now you... your condition is much more severe than any of your 'ally's' other victims. If I heard the sadistic little minx right, she could afflict shinigami with ease. A fellow quincy, however, she had to kill first. So if I can restore you back to a normal and full life, I can easily cure the others. And I know that the captain commander will not object that I experiment on you, because let us be honest..."

A cruel smile slipped across the captain's painted face, his eyes lighting up.

"... You are my prisoner of war, zombie girl. And so shall you become my undead guinea pig."

Once Bambietta would have grown angry at such a statement but now she was simply too tired, too beaten down by both life and death, to even contemplate cursing under her breath. Her tears simply welled up in her eyes even further, streaming down the sides of her bloodshot face.

"Crying?" Captain Kurotsuchi asked curiously. "Well I do suppose it is more tolerable than constant shouting about 'the honor of the quincy,' but I fail to see why you feel the need to object with tears."

The shinigami leaned in close to Bambietta's face, leaving her to smell the rancid breath that escaped his mouth when next he spoke.

"I'm offering you a chance to live, stripling, so show a little gratitude."

"Live?" Bambietta muttered underneath the captain's hand. "I can... still live?"

Captain Kurotsuchi released Bambietta from his grasp, seemingly content with her question. From his robe did the man withdraw a vial containing a strange red liquid. "I said you had a chance, nothing more. This is highly experimental, but better I fail with you than my fellow shinigamis and suffer the consequences from the captain commander or the Central Forty-Six."

Bambietta could feel her body shutting down, her mind still addled by the remnants of Giselle's control. She thought it over as best she could then, wondering if there was any point in another chance at life. She had already been given a second chance before by a seemingly benevolent man and that had only led to her damnation. Would another offer of salvation from a clearly reprehensible shinigami be any better?

Bambietta closed her eyes faintly for a moment, leaving Captain Kurotsuchi to wonder if by chance she had finally succumbed to death in its purest form. The quincy was left in the darkness for a moment until at last she saw a flash of imagery before her mind's eye, a vivid memory she had tried not to dwell on for so long. Her parents were dying before her eyes once again, assaulted and murdered by men who she knew now were shinigami in the guise of mortals.

_"... You must fight to live. If you die, it was all for nothing."_

Her father's words screamed within Bambietta's thoughts, forcing her eyes to open wide. She stared then and there at the shinigami, a fierce determination beaming from her rotting remains. She reached out towards both him and the vial, her body coming closer to eternal death with each passing second.

"I want... Give me... it... Give... me... I want..."

Captain Kurotsuchi sighed as he began to slip the vial into a syringe. "Such a disrespectful test subject. What did I say about demands?"

For the first time since being killed by Giselle and made her servant Bambietta felt a fire within in her. It forced her to push past her body's limits. Her eyes blazed with fury, her voice exploding with energy. "Give me my life back!"

"Back?" Captain Kurotsuchi said curiously. "You make it sound as if I had anything to do with your misfortunes. Silly quincy. However, I do appreciate a lively test subject, so let us begin making your body match that spirit of yours!"

With that, the shinigami captain plunged the syringe into Bambietta's chest, directly into her corrupted heart. The quincy felt nothing, her body rejecting the notion of pain. She simply stared at the vial as its contents were forced through the syringe into her stopped heart.

"There we are," Captain Kurotsuchi said as he withdrew the needle, the vial empty of its contents, Bambietta's forced zombie state healing the wound almost instantly as it drew on the remaining blood of Giselle's for sustenance. "Now let us see what happens."

Suddenly did Bambietta feel pain, something unbecoming of the zombie she had been transformed into. She howled in agony as she threw her head back. Her body thrashed about, her hands clawing at her chest as her screaming intensified. Then, at last, did it stop and Bambietta lay still.

"Oh my," Captain Kurotsuchi said in mild disappointment as he stood up and turned his back on Bambietta. "It was wise indeed to perform the test on the quincy first. Come, Nemu, we must find a new alterna- Oh?"

The shinigami's altered and keen ears could hear something then, a heartbeat. One at first, then a second and at last a steady rhythm.

"It's alive," Captain Kurotsuchi said with a twisted sense of personal satisfaction tugging at the core of his being. He spun around then to face Bambietta. "It's alive!"

Bambietta gasped wildly as she experienced the sensation of her heart beating within her chest again. She had felt it for a moment, complete nonexistence, the world around her having faded into nothing, but then the light had pulled her back. She was shaking in response to the trauma, yet still she could not help but genuinely smile as she sat up.

"I'm alive... thank you very much," she said, sincerity and sarcasm combining into one. She brought her hands up before her very eyes and could see it clearly. Her skin was no longer red with the color of Giselle's blood but instead its own natural pigmentation. Her breathing steadied then, a slight laugh escaping from Bambietta. "I'm... alive..."

"Unfortunately, that will not last for long." Captain Kurotsuchi withdraw from his sheathe a blade and then issued forth a command. "Claw out, Ashisogi Jizo!"

The zanpakuto changed its appearance then, becoming a golden, three pronged weapon. The shinigami placed the middle blade underneath Bambietta's chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"You are still a prisoner of war," captain Kurotsuchi said with a grin, "and while I am not allowed to deal with your 'allies' due to the cease fire that was just issued in light of your 'majesty's' betrayal... I am quite relieved that you yourself have yet to ask for a truce."

Bambietta had been betrayed again, first by the shinigami who issued the order that killed her parents, then by her own quincy brethren and now by yet another shinigami. She had to wonder what the odds were that both shinigami were one in the same, that she was about to meet her death at the hands of her parents' killer. Slim, she was sure, but oddly comforting in its own way.

Bambietta realized it then, that it was true what they said: despair had its own calms. However that did not apply to her in the least. She had been battered and broken this day but now she was alive once more. There was a possibility that her powers were at their apex again and that would give her a fighting chance against the immoral captain who felt he held her life in his gnarled hands. Bambietta refused to allow anyone to think that way of her again. Reiatsu began to come alive in her body, the quincy ready to unleash the Explode of her own volition.

Then, quite suddenly, did two blades descend down upon Captain Kurotsuchi's own. Bambietta's vision widened and she could see two other shinigami on each side of the man who had gone from her savior to her would-be murderer. One was a tall man with blond, uneven hair, a white haori over his dark robes and signifying him as another captain of the Gotei Thirteen.

The other was a petite young woman, her black kimono uniform joined no different than any other shinigami, the vice-captain's badge adorning her left arm the one thing Bambietta's eyes were drawn to.

"That... squad number..." There was a flash then, of battle and carnage, and Bambietta's mind, slowly coming back to its senses, began to recognize the duo that had intervened just now. "You're... the ones I fought..."

"My, my, Captain Hirako and Vice-Captain Hinamori of the Fifth Division," Captain Kurotsuchi hissed through grit teeth, irritation clear as day in his voice. "What do you two think you are doing? I have this situation well in hand."

"I guess you've got a point," Captain Hirako Said, the man scratching his head as he began to turn. He did not complete the motion however, his vice-captain gently elbowing him in the ribs. "Fine... Captain Kurotsuchi, I do believe the battle for the Soul Society has concluded. Heck, we've got some of the surviving quincy helping us get to the Reiokyu."

"Not this one, she-"

"Hasn't enough blood been shed already?" Vice-Captain Hinamori asked, cutting the captain of Twelth Division off.

"I believe you are overstepping your bounds, vice-captain," Mayuri said rather coldly. "But I suppose having your precious captain close makes you feel like you can do whatever you please, yes? The both of you throwing you weight around like this, I suppose that's just a nasty habit you both picked up from the traitor you both know so well."

Bambietta saw it then, the vice-captain growing flustered, the captain's eyes narrowing. However, Captain Hirako's anger quickly dissipated, the man simply shaking his head. "Now if only you picked up some habits from Kisuke Urahara, we might be getting along right now."

There was an uncomfortable silence then, Captain Kurotsuchi simply staring at the apparently unintimidated Captain Hirako while Vice-Captain Hinamori simply began to sweat a bit, leaving Bambietta to wonder if she was nervous.

"Have it your way," Captain Kurotsuchi suddenly said, his blade returning to its original shape. He sheathed it then and began to walk away, the woman known as Nemu joining his side. "But remember, the former captain commander allowed a quincy to live during the last war and it cost him his very life!"

Captain Kurotsuchi stopped then, casting his eye back on Bambietta. "In that regards, perhaps I was too hasty. You quincy are quite different from any I've come across in the past. Perhaps if you are still here upon my return, I could offer you and any other stragglers some leniency in my experiments."

Bambietta felt it then, vomit beginning to rise in her throat as she watched the captain of the Twelth Division begin to walk away once more, his dutiful vice-captain following close behind.

"Man, that guy is such a pain in the ass," Captain Hirako complained, simply sheathing his sword. "For a moment there I thought he was going to take a swing at me. Anyway, I did what you asked, so let's get going."

"I'll join up with you in a minute," the vice-captain said as she sheathed her own sword.

"Man, you are such a bleeding heart goody-two-shoes." Captain Hirako ran a hand through his hair again, looking at Bambietta. "You so much as lay a hand on Vice-Captain Hinamori and I promise I'll turn your world upside down, you got me?"

Then the captain was gone, disappearing in a flash and leaving behind only a shinigami and a quincy.

Bambietta pulled her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she simply sat there, her mind beginning to at last truly focus now that Giselle's hold on her was completely broken. She was quiet for a moment, but she knew the vice-captain was still close by and she had a question for her. "You're the shinigami I nearly killed. So why... why would you be so damn stupid as to help me?"

"My name's Momo Hinamori," the vice-captain replied. "And I don't think I caught yours during that whole mess."

"Momo, huh?"

Bambietta raised an eye at what the shinigami had said, looking at the her with some amount of curiosity. It would be so easy to take her out with the Explode, to end her life like Bambietta had come so close to not a day earlier. However, the quincy knew that would bring the captain back and she was unsure of her chances with how weak her body was, especially if such an action brought the whole of the Soul Society's forces down on her.

Then there was the simple fact that this shinigami, this enemy had protected her. It was a far cry from what Bambietta's fellow Stern Ritter had done after all.

"Not that it's any of your business," the quincy began to say at last, "but my name's Bambietta. Bambietta Basterbine."

"Oh," Momo said simply. "That's a nice na-"

"Again," Bambietta interrupted, "why did you help me just now? I'm your enemy. Hell, I nearly killed you and-"

"I already said why." It was Momo's turn to interrupt a statement, the shinigami catching Bambietta by surprise with her sudden spark of attitude. It was something she had never possessed during her time as Sosuke Aizen's subordinate, no, but her current captain had slowly coaxed it out of her. "Too much blood has been shed in the Soul Society this day."

"That's a war for you," Bambietta replied coldly. "They're tough."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it," Momo countered. "I've seen friends hurt in two already and..."

Bambietta glared at Momo. "And?"

"It makes me sick," Momo said, the shinigami's right hand clutching at her left arm. "To work beside people, to want to make a better future beside them, only to watch them all die one by one when you least expect it. That's why... why I knew I had to keep going. To be a shinigami."

"Oh?" Bambietta asked. "Is that right? And here I thought you were the one who fell head over heels for a bastard who played you like a fiddle."

Momo paused for a moment, looking at Bambietta with some level of anger and hurt. "Yes," the shinigami said in a surprisingly cold tone, "there was that too. How did you-"

"Do you have any idea how long the Wandenreich was planning this war from the shadows?" Bambietta replied, shrugging a little bit as she did so. "We were watching you all for so long and you never knew it. Not even your precious Captain Aizen caught on."

"Don't call him that," Momo interjected.

"Why?" Bambietta asked. "You going to cause more bloodshed after all?"

Momo's teeth grit together for a moment, the vice-captain growing frustrated at old wounds being brought to the surface. However, much to her annoyance, Bambietta continued to press that issue.

"He had you wrapped around his little finger," Bambietta said. "A puppet on strings, even for a little while after he..." Bambietta's hand slowly began to move up towards her chest, lying atop where her heart lay. Right where Giselle had torn her life from her. "After he betrayed your trust right before your eyes."

"I guess you found that fun to watch," Momo said, the shinigami more than ready and willing to walk away now, the subject matter beginning to grate on her.

Bambietta was blunt then, it being the only thing she knew how to be. "Yes. Yes, I did. What he did was no different than... anything I've done. To take advantage of others who admired me, who thought they understood what I really wanted. And all I did was kill them for the thrill of it."

Momo turned on Bambietta then, her voice raising. "Both you and Aizen are monsters!"

Bambietta sighed, her eyelids half-closed as she looked down at the ground. "Don't be like that. You knew what I was when you saved me."

Momo was quiet then, the shinigami keeping a hand on her sword's handle as she began to take a step away.

"I know how you felt."

Momo paused then, looking back at Bambietta. The quincy's face was trembling a bit, the woman's hand gripping tightly against the tattered uniform across her chest.

"I get it now," Bambietta continued. "I trusted people once. Friends. And in the end they... they left me alone. They left me to die. And when I didn't... when you shinigami couldn't quite get the job done... they did."  
Momo was simply confused, the quincy standing before her alive and well speaking as if she had died. "But-"

"Gig- Giselle wanted my heart and she got it," Bambietta said, the quincy squirming in horror as she recalled well the agony she had felt as her life had faded from her body, as she had watched her heart beat its last within Giselle's hands. "And she took my peace from me. Made me her puppet. Until... that freak of a captain..."

Momo was about to say something, anything, but the Stern Ritter before her did something she had not expected.

Bambietta chuckled.

The quincy remembered it well, how she had lured many quincy to her quarters under false pretexts, killing them quickly to vent her frustrations. None of them had been her friend, not like she had been with Giselle and the others, but still the betrayal was present. As one of his majesty's elite, she had been looked up to by those beneath her station. It was no different than how Yhwach had considered them all pawns. No different than how Sosuke Aizen had looked down upon Momo Hinamori. That truth began to weigh upon Bambietta's mind, her breath nearly catching itself.

"I guess it was my fate," Bambietta, her lips curling up in a bemused fashion before dropping again. "I betrayed my comrades again and again and that was the end that was waiting for me. Guess me and karma got something in common."

Momo took a deep breath then, unsure of what to make of this quincy before her. She was an enemy, yes, but others had already pledged themselves to fight against their former leader, the man who had betrayed them. It was a desire that Momo understood quite well and she could see it Bambietta, hear it in her voice, that she could as well.

"So what will you do now?" Momo asked at last. "Your friends are already going to enter the Reiokyu with us..."

Momo realized almost immediately what implication she had made, the vice-captain stopping herself before she spoke any further. It was too late however, Bambietta's anger suddenly spiking.

"They're not my friends!" the quincy shouted, her temper at last flaring to its full crescendo. She stared over Momo's shoulder and could see both Giselle and Liltotto conversing with the other shinigami. She saw no sight of either Meninas or Candice, Bazz-B there instead. However it was Giselle who Bambietta could not pry her eyes away from, the ragged Stern Ritter's body quivering slightly. She had to wonder if any other quincy might feel the same way about her if they knew what had happened to those who had taken her pretexts seriously. "She's not..."

Momo followed Bambietta's fearful and enraged stare, taking notice of Giselle as well. "That's the one?" Momo whispered, trying to keep her voice low so that Bambietta heard nothing.

However, much to her surprise, Bambietta managed nonetheless. "Yes," the quincy said softly, "that's her."

"Stay here then," Momo said with the composure and the courtesy befitting a vice-captain of the Gotei Thirteen. She moved down on one knee before the trembling quincy and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You've seen enough battle for one day."

Bambietta hated herself for what she was feeling now. She had spent so much of her life fighting but she knew what Yhwach was capable of. Perhaps the shinigami stood a chance but Bambietta knew no Stern Ritter could battle their own god and survive. That, however, was not the truth behind her hesitation.

"I can't fight by her side, not again," Bambietta said meekly, a mannerism she also hated expressing. "She'll betray me again, or..." The quincy's face warped slightly, anger taking hold of her. That was a feeling she did not mind showing. "... Or I'll kill her!"

"And we can't have any in-fighting on a mission this important," Momo said, not backing down despite the Stern Ritter's rage. "You can't go after her and I... I can't go near him."

"Him?" Bambietta looked up at Momo.

"I get what you're feeling," Momo answered in a rather roundabout way. "I never wanted to see him again, but... we need his help to stop Yhwach."

Bambietta understood then, the quincy realizing that Momo had to have been speaking of Aizen. She had to guess that her former emperor had made the Soul Society very desperate if they had released him from his eternal prison.

"I can't do it," Bambietta whimpered, her anger dissipating just as quickly as it had formed. "But you... I guess you can."

Bambietta chuckled again, if only barely.

"How humiliating," the quincy whispered. "To be saved by a shinigami. And then shown up by the same one."

"What happened to you? What made you hate us so much?"

Bambietta's ears perked up then, the quincy having never expected such a question, especially not from a shinigami. It was to be expected of course. No one had bothered to ask her such things. Not those she fought against or beside. Not even her so-called friends had cared enough to find out what made her tick.

Bambietta scoffed at the idea of baring her soul, especially to one such as this shinigami, but at the same time she was beginning to wonder if she cared one way or another. "My parents, they fought to protect. And then your kind killed them right before my eyes. For no other reason than because they were a part of the quincy race. So you'll excuse me, but my hate is very justified."

Momo did not like what she was hearing, the shinigami horrified to hear that any others in the Soul Society could be a part of such an atrocity. Yet she knew it could very well be true. It would not have been beyond the reproach of Sosuke Aizen to do such a thing, let alone Captain Kurotsuchi. "But to condemn all shinigami for the actions of the few... To want to kill us all because of the past..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Bambietta said quietly. "I became the very thing I hate. Don't you go thinking I don't already know that. Hell, my parents sacrificed themselves so that I could live and I've... All I've done is spit on their memory while keeping myself alive."

Bambietta paused for a moment, recalling well all the lives she had taken; shinigami, hollow and quincy alike. Her lips began to drop, her eyes closing for a moment.

"I'm sure they'd be disgusted by the actions of the person they threw their lives away for."

"I'm sure they'd just be happy to see that you're alive," Momo said, the shinigami still keeping a tight grip on her zanpakuto, unsure of the volatile conversation she had gotten herself into. "But I can only guess they'd want you to be happy too."

"Why?" Bambietta asked, her eyes looking deep into Momo's own. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because shinigami are meant to help other souls find peace," Momo answered, her blood quickly running cold as she took notice of Bambietta looking at her. Nonetheless did she stand her ground and keep at bay any concerns. "Whether that means cleansing hollows, guiding the dearly departed to the Soul Society or even helping an enemy come to terms with their lives."

Momo stopped for a moment, thinking over some of her fellow captains in particular.

"Well, all right, so that's why I became a shinigami," she said a little sheepishly. Then did Momo's tone grow serious again. "I joined the Gotei Thirteen so that I could protect as many souls as I could. And to protect in particular..."

"Come on, Vice-Captain Hinamori," Captain Hirako's voice said as he appeared by Momo's side. "I know talking the enemy to death is a valid strategy and all, but we've got places to go, other bad guys you can probably chat it up with."

Momo sighed as she heard the teasing words of her captain. She knew he meant well of course. Captain Hirako had helped bring her out of her shell, to help her stand on her own two feet. He was the polar opposite of Sosuke Aizen after all. So she began to walk away, following her captain. Yet then did she stop, Momo looking over her shoulder towards Bambietta.

"I'll finish this fight for you," Momo said. "Just find yourself some peace, Bambietta."

"Bambi," the quincy corrected. "Just call me Bambi." Bambietta paused then, looking at Momo with an exasperated expression, the quincy folding her arms across her chest as she turned her head to the side and shut her eyes. It was sudden and impulsive, not to mention the most alive Bambietta had felt since her forced resurrection. Not that she would tell Momo that. "Not that we're all buddy-buddy or anything!"

Bambietta could feel it, her face growing warm. She had to hope that no one could see the apparent blush on her cheeks. It was all so sudden and impulsive, not to mention the most alive Bambietta had felt since her forced resurrection. Not that she would tell Momo that.

"Bambi," Momo repeated with a half-smile. "This war is going to end today, one way or another. So go. Live your life. Make your parents proud."

Then Momo was beside her captain again, the two of them walking away from Bambietta. As they did so, the quincy could hear them both speaking.

"Man, what a pain," Captain Hirako said as he gently patted Momo on the back. "So ungrateful. You see what you get for helping a brat that gave us trouble?"

"Maybe she wouldn't have if you didn't explain what your shikai did in full detail," Momo shot back, playfully digging at her captain. It was something she would never have imagined doing to Sosuke Aizen, but this relationship was far different.

"Hey, she couldn't even understand what I was saying at the time!" Captain Hirako replied defensively.

"Then that makes it you explaining to it to her all the more silly!" Momo replied, not willing to give ground on the matter.

Then both Momo and her captain were gone, a step of their high speed movement taking them out of sight and leaving their voices to fade away into the distance. The reborn quincy was left on her own then.

Bambietta stayed still for a moment, her thoughts and feelings a whirl of emotion that she could not fully comprehend. All she knew was one simple thing: there was only one existing person who had not betrayed her in this life and that person had been one of her blood-sworn enemies up until just now. Worse still, that person was about to enter a battle with no guaranteed outcome.

"The whole point of fighting is that you don't want to die... That you'll be killed if you lose... If you throw your life away in battle, what's the point in winning?" The quincy curled up a little tighter then, her chin resting against her propped up knees. Her voice grew softer and more withdrawn. "Don't throw your life away, Momo Hinamori."


	3. Heed the Howling

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.**

* * *

Bambietta Basterbine was alive once more, yes, but not entirely well. Once she had been a confident young lady, proud to a fault, willing to throw herself into battle at a moment's notice. Now, however, she was staying out of the fight, leaving it to the shinigamis who had brought her back to true life.

"As Nodt... would find this hilarious..."

Thoughts of Stern Ritter F in the back of her mind, Bambietta began to stand at last. Her Wandenreich uniform was in complete disarray, damaged and torn thanks to the previous battles. To Bambietta that was entirely unacceptable, not to mention just a tad bit embarrassing. She looked around her and took notice of the deceased and departed, cringing at the thought of what she was about to do.

Crouching down, Bambietta grabbed hold of one of the deceased shinigami, taking notice of how their body was beginning to fade away, the unmoving figure's reishi dissipating back into the cycle of death and life. Bambietta knew her facts well enough, that it was a slow process but she could not wait for it to complete. To the Stern Ritter in question it was unsightly for her to parade about in her current state of undress.

"I'm sorr-" Bambietta stopped herself as she lugged the corpse into one of the nearby barracks, questioning why exactly she had even begun to say what she had. She had never been one prone for apologizing, even when deep down she knew she needed to, and to apologize to one who had been her enemy? To one who was no longer alive to even hear it? To the Bambietta Basterbine that had arisen within the Soul Society through the shadows of the Wandenreich only a short while ago it would have been unimaginable.

However much had changed in such a short amount of time. Now Bambietta was staring at the face of the dearly departed shinigami, taking note of the look of abject horror that was permanently etched onto the woman's face. Bambietta's own was dispassionate and unmoving, but while her eyes did not waver, her heart and soul did. She herself had been exactly as this woman was, a corpse with no future to speak of.

"I'm sorry." An exasperated sigh slipping out from between her lips, Bambietta began to take from the dead shinigami her uniform, slipping the black garb over her own tattered uniform. The quincy tightened the white belt around her waist, completing the outfit. Bambietta then slipped her hands underneath her long hair, directly above the back of her neck, and gently lifted the long locks from out of the kimono. The mop of disheveled hair fell down upon Bambietta's back, her 'transformation' complete.

She looked down at herself now, trying to rationalize how she could ever dress as one she had considered a blood sworn enemy. That was when she noticed it, the red stains that were practically engraved into the shinigami's uniform. Bambietta's eyes widened for a moment, her hands trembling. They came up to her mouth then, as if she was fighting the urge to vomit in disgust.

"Calm down... Calm... down..."

The quincy spoke to herself then, in ragged bursts as she slowly regained her composure. She looked down at the battered and broken shinigami, the woman left in only her undergarments now, and Bambietta knew she could not allow her to be left like this, dead or alive. She took a quick inventory of what the barracks had to offer and noticed a row of medical blankets and tarps lining the far wall. She took one then, draping the cloth over the dead. Bambietta felt a trace amount of hesitation as the blanket began to cover the shinigami's face but she saw it through until the end.

"Why the hell should I care?"

Bambietta had killed before. Hollows, shinigami and even quincy. Her blade, her arrows, her Explode, they had all touched so many shinigami in the recent battles. Why then was she feeling guilt now of all times? The internal questions began to wear at Bambietta's mind, sparking the flame of her temper. Her eyes narrowed as her lips curled back, a slight smile forming.

The thought of finding an unwilling subject, to destroy him or her on the spot, began to play across the mind's eye of the quincy. Yes, a little violence would make her feel all the better.

Then did the smile suddenly drop into a frown of sorts, Bambietta's eyes closing. "What the hell am I?"

Bambietta stepped out from the barracks, walking slowly as she came back out into the light. Despite the ever-present sun of the Soul Society, she felt as if she was wrapped in the darkness still. She had found salvation in Yhwach's cloak when she had been just a child so long ago. She had lived the majority of her life in the shadows of the Soul Society, hidden away within Yhwach's fortress. Thus did Bambietta have to wonder if that was all there was to her life, the corruptive shield that was the darkness.

"I can't fight, I won't fight," she whispered, "but I'm still willing to find pleasure in killing?"

Bambietta found herself back where she had started, surrounded by the death and destruction that the war had wrought.

"I am so fucked up..."

Her shoulders sagging, Bambietta looked towards the shinigami who had assembled to invade Yhwach's territory, the other remnants of the Stern Ritter by their sides. They were all slowly pouring into a building, one Bambietta recalled was a Twelth Division laboratory from the layout of the Soul Society she had studied days ago. She knew that she should join them, that she would have done so without hesitation in her quest for battle, for the escape granted by violence, but that Bambietta had died what felt like a lifetime ago.

"You..."

Bambietta's gaze fell upon the back of Giselle Gewelle. She was unaware and unguarded. It would have been the perfect chance to strike down the one who had betrayed her trust. One usage of the Explode and revenge would be Bambietta's to own and cherish. She hesitated however, remembering her conversation with Momo Hinamori. Bambietta forced her gaze away from the others and began to walk off.

"Fight his ,ajes- fight that bastard or fight no one," she whispered underneath her breath. "It's as simple as that."

Collapsing onto a pile of debris, Bambietta leaned forward and let her head hang low as her arms rested atop her knees. She could not do it, she could not fight against the traitorous god that she had pledged her life to so long ago. He was a monster no doubt, but Bambietta knew she was no better. However, she also knew that was not stopping Giselle from joining alongside the shinigami.

"I just.. can't do this anymore... Everything I fought for... everything I am... is... is..."

Bambietta's head slumped further then, her forehead very nearly touching her cloaked arms. She shut her eyes, trying to make sense of what she had become in death and life.

"Where the hell is everyone?"

Bambietta raised her head then, catching sight of a shinigami with short dark hair and a pair of black sunglasses. The man was running across the battlefield, yet he was still looking directly at her as he approached, his breath betraying that he was a little winded. Bambietta could see that his arms were very nearly behind his back, no doubt a sign that he was carrying something. Perhaps equipment for the shinigami to enter the Reiokyu.

"Hey!" the man shouted again. "I asked you a question!"

Bambietta began to question the sense in dressing as a shinigami but she was willing to offer this man an answer nonetheless. "They're all going to the Reiokyu." Bambietta nodded her head towards the laboratory, still more shinigami entering it.

"Much obliged," the man answered, just about to turn and take off in a hurry.

"What's your name?"

"You're kidding, right?" the man asked, his attention returning back to Bambietta. "You take a hit to the head or something during all the fighting, kid? I'm the vice-captain of the Seventh Division, Tetsuzaemon Iba."

"Seventh... Division?" Bambietta watched as the vice-captain turned away from her and began to head towards his allies. The disguised quincy's eyes widened in shock then as she took notice of what the shinigami was carrying on his back. It was a wolf, one who looked fairly familiar to Bambietta. The beast was unmoving, its eyes closed as if it was sleeping. Bambietta blinked a few times, stopping only as her eyes grew large with shock and realization. "Doggy?"

Tetsuzaemon turned around the, glaring at Bambietta through his shades. "What did you say?"

Bambietta stumbled on her words then, unsure of what she was truly seeing. "Why... why are you bringing that poor animal into battle?"

"He's not an animal!" Tetsuzaemon's voice exploded then, trace amounts of spit entering the air as a result. "You will show the proper respect to Captain Sajin Komamura!"

"Your captain?" Now Bambietta was even more confused. The coat of fur was similar to the shinigami she had initially encountered during the first invasion but it still did not make even the tiniest amount of sense to her. First he had been a hybrid of sorts, then he had confronted her during the second conquest as a complete human being, now he was a simple wolf?

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. These are... trying times." The vice-captain looked ashamed for a moment. He said nothing, his gaze averting slightly. The wolf moved its head in its sleep, propping its lower jaw on Tetsuzaemon's shoulder. The vice-captain was about to speak again when suddenly the wolf yawned slightly, its nose beginning to move as it sniffed at the air. "Captain?"

Komamura's suddenly growled, his eye snapping open. The wolf stared intently at Bambietta, snarling as he did so. The beast struggled then, giving Vice-Captain Iba cause for concern.

"Captain Komamura, what's gotten into you?"

Tetsuzaemon struggled with his devolved former captain but the wolf proved too much for him. He lost his grip and in turn did Komamura make his way to the ground and began to approach Bambietta slowly, his growling growing more and more sinister.

"Captain Komamura, that's enough!" the vice-captain shouted, unsure of how much of the man was left in his superior. "Please, for my sake, for Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's sake, get ahold of yourself!"

The words seemed to tug at the wolf's heart as Komamura hesitated for a moment. The growling subsided but still did the wolf bare his fangs as he came closer and closer to Bambietta.

"What did you do to yourself, Doggy?" Bambietta asked softly.

"My captain, he..." Tetsuzaemon hesitated for a moment, his voice trailing off. "He sacrificed everything to fight the quincy. His power, his pride, his very way of life... And this... is the end result..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bambietta said under her breath, her gaze directing at the wolf that had once been a man of sorts. "You threw your life away and now look at you..."

The wolf got closer then, the growling returning to the low rumble it had been moments before. The sight and sound made Bambietta's skin crawl, the quincy very nearly jumping out of her borrowed shinigami clothes. Still she did her best to stand her ground.

"It's all right," Bambietta replied to the animalistic action, stretching out an open palm towards the approaching beast. Her voice lowered then once more. She should have been nervous of the wolf's approach, the former captain of the Seventh Division no doubt still remembering her on some instinctive level. She should have been, but Bambietta was unafraid nonetheless. "Would killing me help you find peace, Doggy?"

The wolf hissed a little then, the former captain's mouth full of fangs growing ever closer.

"I've died once already," Bambietta whispered still, knowing that Komamura's keen hearing would no doubt catch the low register of her voice. She glanced down with shame, trying to look the wolf in his eyes. "What's one more for the road?"

Despite her inner feelings, the quincy's arm was shaking, each and every outstretched finger trembling as Komamura came within biting distance. His fangs were completely on display now, saliva ever present on each one.

Then did the wolf's eyes suddenly stare intently into Bambietta's own dull pair. It lasted for a moment, then another and another. Then, as if on cue, did Komamura's lips move down, covering his fangs as the growling was replaced by a sudden whimper.

"What?" Bambietta was unsure of the wolf's sudden change of heart, the captain-turned-beast suddenly moving his head underneath her open palm. Bambietta could feel Komamura's fur brush against her finger tips and she looked at his own eyes. The quincy began to wonder if the light within the dark eyes was born from nothing more than sympathy and sorrow.

Bambietta let the palm of her outstretched hand touch down upon Komamura's head, rubbing slightly between his ears. "I'll never understand you, Doggy. How could you... how could you do this to yourself? It's a... fate... worse..." Bambietta was on the verge of saying it, a phrase that left her blood cold. "That fight left us both better off dead, didn't it?"

Komamura whimpered again, the wolf's eyes glancing away from the quincy.

Bambietta was unsure of what to make of it all. She was pretty sure animals were attuned to people's feelings, sometimes better than most actual humans were with each other, but what could Komamura had noticed that had changed his mind from attack to pity? Whatever the case was, Bambietta was not taking it well.

"Doggy, I..." Bambietta crouched down by the wolf, wrapping her arms around him. She bit down on her lower lip as she felt the wolf rest his head on her shoulder, Bambietta closing her eyes for the moment. "I'm sorry, Sajin Komamura."

Tetsuzaemon Iba was left in complete confusion by the scene. He brought up one hand, scratching at his short hair. "Did I miss something?"

Bambietta said nothing for a moment, holding Komamura close. Then she looked at Tetsuzaemon, staring at the man with a quiet concern. "Hasn't your captain fought enough for one day? Hasn't he sacrificed enough for this war?"

Tetsuzaemon knew that the woman before him could not see his eyes, not through his sunglasses, yet still he diverted his gaze away from her. "You don't understand. The captain... He wanted..."

Bambietta felt it then, a slight exhalation from Komamura, the wolf whimpering slightly. The quincy did not know what was coming over her now, her thoughts focused solely on the opponent who had soundly defeated her in battle.

"He'll die up there if you bring him."

"I know, I just-"

Bambietta snapped then, her own anger surprising even her for a moment. "The whole point of fighting is that you don't want to die! That you'll be killed if you lose! If you throw your life away in battle, what's the point in winning?"

The disguised quincy's breath caught in her throat for a minute, realizing that, under the cloak of her deceptive uniform, she was all but yelling at a superior officer. In response she said something she never thought she would to a shinigami.

"My apologies. I spoke out of turn."

Bambietta lowered her head then, resting her chin upon Komamura's head as she glanced down at the pavement. She waited then, for the vice-captain to chastise her for speaking against a superior or worse. Perhaps he would suspect her status as a quincy thanks to her disrespectful outburst, perhaps even realizing she was the one that his captain had fought against.

Yet when Tetsuzaemon spoke it was not with either irritation or suspicion. No, what left the man's lungs then was a heavy sigh, as if he had at last understood the burden that sat atop his shoulder. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe our part in this war has already reached its conclu-"

The vice-captain's words were cut short then, several bursts of blood splattering away from his chest as he was thrown to the side by a sudden force. Bambietta watched in surprise as the shinigami crashed to the ground, Komamura growling once more.

"Target is wounded but termination is undetermined."

Bambietta recognized the voice well, its inhuman and mechanical tone a clear indication. Still did she turn to face the attacker and found herself staring at a fellow quincy.

"Stern Ritter K," she whispered, "BG9."

The robotic quincy stood atop the rubble that had once been a building, its right arm having formed into a gatling gun that extended well past the cloak that covered its frame. Bambietta had never been quite sure how a purely mechanical being had become a quincy but she had never been one to question Yhwach's methods or madness. She had more than enough of the latter on her own.

Now, however, that question was nipping at her thoughts once more. BG9 had always been nothing more than a series of questions for any other quincy, Berenice Gabrielli especially.

The machine's armored head turned to face Bambietta then, its voice the same as before. "Stern Ritter E, Bambietta Basterbine. It appears that the reports of your demise were greatly exaggerated. Just as my own were." The machine then turned its view towards the laboratory that the shinigami and few quincy had entered. "Come. We must prevent any intrusion upon the Reiokyu for his majesty's sake. I will not fail the sole justification for the sparing of my existence."

Bambietta said nothing then, her thoughts dwelling on vague memories. She could have sworn that she had heard Giselle and the others speak of BG9, how it had been captured and destroyed by Yhwach and Haschwalth for falling in battle. However, Bambietta's memories from her undead state were a foggy and untrustworthy thing. Now she was especially believing that.

BG9 turned to face her again, a set of eyes glowing beneath its mask. "Did I not make myself clear, Stern Ritter E?"

"I'm... done fighting. I.. I can't do it anymore..."

"Unfortunate." BG9 turned its full attentions on Bambietta, raising the gatling gun towards her. "Then your services are no longer required."

"Bakudo number one, Sai!"

BG9's upper limbs suddenly twisted behind its back, the gatling gun's bullets tearing into the debris underneath the machine's feet. The Stern Ritter collapsed then, the precarious ground beneath it giving way.

Bambietta watched as her fellow quincy fell out of view, her gaze shifting to the side. She saw Tetsuzaemon Iba then. The shinigami was standing unsteady, one hand at his bleeding chest while the other was pointed outwards.

"You're a quincy, aren't you?" the vice-captain asked with a hint of anger buried in his voice. "Well isn't that... just... great?"

Then did the shinigami collapse, leaving Bambietta unsure of why he had bothered to save her. She was about to approach him, to make sure he was okay, to ask him what he had been trying to accomplish, but it was not to be.

"Foolish shinigami." BG9 burns forth from the rubble, landing beside the wounded vice-captain. "Twice has your kind made a mockery of me today but it ends now."

Bambietta began to move then, intent on returning the unexpected favor that the vice-captain had just granted her. The Explode began to come to life, her schrift at the ready. Then, quite suddenly, did she hesitate.

One face, then another and another, played across her eyes. She recognized them not by name but by the manner in which they had died. In the manner in which she had killed them. Each image split down the middle, revealing one after another until BG9's mechanical visage was left. Man or machine, he was a quincy and Bambietta hesitated at killing another.

"I... can't..."

"Threat level minimal," BG9 said with an uncertain ease as it cast its gaze away from Bambietta. "Returning to termination, then will the future targets be dealt with accordingly as per his majesty's designs."

Bambietta cursed her helplessness. Her body ached for battle, her thoughts yearned for it, but her shattered heart, beating as it was, held them both back. However, another would not be restrained so.

With a snarl that ascended into a howl, Komamura ran forward, his legs taking him away from the hesitant Bambietta and towards his own endangered vice-captain. He leapt for BG9, the robotic quincy turning quickly to face its latest attacker.

"Doggy, no!" Bambietta screamed, knowing that a mere wolf had no chance against a Stern Ritter. She pulled back her outstretched hand then, her teeth gritting tightly. "Why do you keep throwing your life away?"

BG9's free hand swung out rapidly, its fingers locking tightly around the throat of Komamura in midair. The wolf's attack was stopped instantly, the captain-turned-animal growling and whimpering in protest, waving his forelimbs and hind legs in protest.

"Threat... nonexistent." BG9 tightened its grip, fully intent on snapping Komamura's neck before returning to the downed shinigami. "Resistance is meaningless."

"Stop it..." Bambietta pleaded, her lips trembling. "Stop... throwing your lives... away... Fight... you have to fight to live!"

Bambietta's voice was cracking, her emotional state continuing to unravel. She could see the life slipping away from the wolf's body, yet then she heard a voice from a time long since passed moving throughout her mind and memories.

_"There are only two kinds of fights that matter. Those where you fight to protect yourself and those where you fight to protect others. Any other reason to fight would be uncivilized."_

"Poppa... I..." Bambietta's face went blank as she stared at the dying Komamura, the memories continuing to assault her.

_"The fundamental difference between them is that in the first case you must fight to live. If you die, it was all for nothing. But in the second, your life is secondary in importance compared to those you are protecting."_

It hit Bambietta Basterbine then, what her father had tried so hard to etch into her soul when she was so very young. She had grown to understand his lessons, but only to an extent. The darkness had touched her, corrupted her and in turn corrupted his teachings. She had fought to live, fought to survive, fought only for herself.

A slight wind moved past Bambietta as she stared wide-eyed in a trance, her life collapsing and rebuilding in an instant. Then and only then did Bambietta's eyes narrow, her face slipping into a determined scowl.

"I... I will..." The quincy's fingers curled into the palms of her hands, shaking as they did so. "I will fight... Not for myself, but for..."

BG9 could hear the ranting of Stern Ritter E and in response did the machine glance at her slightly, all the while keeping a tight grip on Komamura's collapsing windpipe. "What's this?"

Bambietta knew it, understood it, but she could not bring herself to truly say it. Not yet. Her fighting spirit had been roused, her stubbornness finally at the forefront of her emotions once again. "I, Bambietta Basterbine of the quincy, have no one in this world to fight for!"

Without any further hesitation, Bambietta focused her very being on BG9's gatling gun, her reiryoku infecting the weapon. The Explode did as it was instructed, causing the malicious weapon to burst apart, its remains clattering to the ground below.

"Analyzing..."

Bambietta did not give Stern Ritter K a moment to react. She quickly called upon the energy around her, drawing on the very reishi of the Soul Society itself. The particles gathered beneath her feet and in an instant and then she was gone. The next she was before BG9, pulling Komamura free from his loosened grip, the surprise of the Explode having been responsible. Another flash then and she was grabbing Tetsuzaemon.

Then they were all gone, leaving BG9 by itself.

* * *

The situation was grim, Momo Hinamori knew that much. The trip to Reiokyu was not going as smoothly as she had hoped, a scary prospect, since it was being orchestrated by the efforts of both Kisuke Urahara and Captain Kurotsuchi.

"I hope everything will be all right," Momo said softly to herself, the vice-captain worried for both the realms of the living and the dead as well as the one she cherished most. She had not seen Toshiro Hitsugaya since the second invasion had begun, leaving her to hope that he was not among the casualties.

"Hey there, Momo! Long time no see!"

Directly in front of Momo did a woman dressed as a shinigami appear, gently laying down Vice-Captain Iba and a fox. Both appeared to be worse for wear, their breathing pained and ragged in its execution.

"You, you're the quincy," Momo whispered, staring at the familiar face. "What did you do?"

"Got attacked by Stern Ritter K. Doggy and Shades here got hurt. Heal them up and get to the Reiokyu. I'll hold the Stern Ritter off. Okay? Thanks! Bye!"

Then did Bambietta disappear in a flash once more, leaving Momo to shake her head in disbelief. "I thought you said you couldn't fight, but..."

The corners of her lips tugging upwards slightly, Momo knelt down beside Vice-Captain Iba and the fox and began to call upon the power of a healing Kido. Her hands began to glow green, the light illuminating both the man and beast, alleviating any discomfort they felt.

Meanwhile, across the room the three remaining quincy were staring at space where the scene had just transpired.

"That shinigami..." Bazz-B said under his breath.

"She was so damn bitchy," Liltotto added on.

"I don't know," Giselle finished. "I thought she was kind of cute."


	4. Blow Your Mind

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.**

* * *

The Stern Ritter known only as BG9 was alone on the battlefield, those it had attempted to murder having escaped in a flash. The machine knew well what it had to do, its thought patterns and computation complete. To give chase, to kill all who dared oppose Yhwach, that was its sole reason for existence now.

Yet then did BG9's sensors pick up a change, a shift in the space around it. The machine turned its head slightly, catching sight of Bambietta Basterbine shimmering into existence, this time alone. BG9 simply remained composed in face of the unexpected opposition, speaking with the most unemotional of tones. "Ah, Hirenkyaku."

"What would you expect from a fellow quincy, huh?" Bambietta asked, appearing directly behind BG9, a wicked smile crossing her lips. "Now how about we-"

Bambietta's words were cut short as BG9 spun around and caught her across the face with its left hand. The rogue quincy fell back a bit, spitting up some blood as she put some distance between herself and the machine.

"Your tactics and fighting style are crude and predictable," BG8 said simply. "You speak when you should attack. A fatal mistake I assure you."

"Well now," Bambietta wiped the trickle of red liquid away from the corner of her mouth, "and here I thought the old 'behind you' trick would work out for me. You clearly don't have a love for classics, huh, BG9?"

"I do not possess what you call life," the mechanical quincy retorted. "Love is not a possibility without life."

"Now isn't that a shame." Bambietta stood her ground, making sure to keep herself between BG9 and the laboratory where the shinigami were trying to move forward. "But you still love to keep secrets, huh? Most of us were up front, but you and Stern Ritter N just loved to be all secretive with your abilities. I was hurt, you know?"

"Hurt?"

"It almost made me feel like you didn't trust your fellow Stern Ritter." Bambietta was feeling it now, the joy of fighting, the thrill of getting underneath an opponent's skin, even if they did not have any in BG9's case. "So what's it stand for? Tell me, tell me, Killbot! Oh, is that it? The Kill?"

BG9 said nothing.

"No, no, I suppose that would be too obvious. The King? The Key? The Kinky? Oh, I hope that isn't it. Say, how about the Killable?"

Bambietta smiled then, her eyes narrowing with ruthless intent.

"Yeah, I like that one."

"My designation is meaningless," BG9 spoke, its tone still as inhuman as ever. "You will die regardless."

BG9 cast off its coat then, revealing its metallic body underneath. The armor plating of its chest opened, a myriad number of tendrils bursting forth at such a speed that even Bambietta was caught unawares.

"Oh not good!" The cables began to wrap around the quincy's body, pinning her arms to her sides and whipping around until she was bound within Stern Ritter K's tentacles. Her legs were next, becoming wrapped from top to bottom in mere moments. Bambietta struggled to free herself, but BG9's tendrils only tightened in response. "Well, maybe you are the Kinky after all..."

"Your attempts at humor are as effective as your battle strategies," BG9 said as it sailed in close, its armored mask mere inches away from Bambietta's face. "So please, stifle yourself before I gag you."

"Oh yeah, definitely the Kinky..."

"Silence." BG9's cords tightened then, leaving Bambietta to scream as they tore into her body. "Let me make one thing clear, Stern Ritter E. I understand you more than you do yourself."

"Is... that right?" Bambietta cringed in pain, the tendrils growing tighter and cutting through cloth and into her flesh. She struggled to fend off the unorthodox attack with blut vene, the defensive power inherit to a quincy at the ready, but still did the agony persist, blood dripping from her wounds and down the cables that BG9 produced. "That's... shit! I'm too crazy... to call!"

"Impossible, for I am the Knowledge." BG9 tightened its hold then, further adding to the terrible sensations tearing through Bambietta's skin. "His majesty simply gifted me the power to absorb all knowledge presented. An ideal ability for a machine that surpasses flesh and blood quincy, don't you agree? I can reach no limit, forget nothing that I have observed. Everything and anything is an open book to me. And you, Stern Ritter E, are no exception."

"The Knowledge, huh?" Bambietta whispered through pain as the tendrils began to move upwards, suspending her lacerated and bloody body high above and before BG9. "Sounds to me... like you're just the Know-It-All..."

"One glance is all it takes for me to understand and comprehend exactly what is before me," BG9 continued, undeterred by Bambietta's flippant attitude. "You are simply a girl frightened by death and loneliness. You sought release and friendship among the Wandenreich, yet you do not understand others. Everything about you tells the tale. Your personality, your tactics, even your power. You are a loud and obnoxious young lady, unable to handle any such situation with the slightest decorum or tact. All you are is an emotional time bomb, nothing more."

BG9 lowered its gaze then, a faint glow underneath its visor staring as if into Bambietta's soul.

"What did you hope to accomplish? I understand your Explode as well as any other schrift. Without concentration you cannot utilize it, even if an opponent is as close as I. Pain breaks your ability to focus, that much is clear. Tell me, Stern Ritter E, how did you ever intend to buy time for his majesty's enemies?"

"It's.. simple..." Bambietta said softly, her voice marred with pain. Then, however, did she look right back at BG9, a big grin on her face. "By! Being! A! Royal! Pain!"

BG9 was about to reply, to retort once more, but the mechanical soldier's head simply detonated outwards. A shard of metal slipped by Bambietta's face, drawing a slight amount of blood from her cheek, but she did not pay it any mind. The Explode had done its job and another quincy had fallen by Bambietta's hand. For the first time in her life, however, she knew that she would not regret it.

"Not like you had a life to lose anyway, Killbot, but it looks like I'm the only quincy on this battlefield who gets to keep her second chance." Bambietta began to pull herself free from of the tendrils, letting them fall slack around her body. She took a deep breath then, preparing herself to join the shinigami now. "And not that you can add this what was that big head of yours, but that was hardly worthy of being called pain. I've..."

Bambietta recalled it then, the physical and emotional pain of betrayal searing across her very being. She clutched at her arms then, both hands digging tight as she sniffed back a momentary relapse of sorrow and anger.

"I've felt worse."

The quincy began to move, ready to step forward. Yet did the world around Bambietta begin to dim then, her vision fading as her eyes began to close slowly. The quincy stumbled about then, trying to keep her footing. Blood continued to ooze forth from her wounds, the damage from the destroyed BG9 done.

"No... I will... will fight..." Bambietta forced herself to move forward then, her eyes locked on the Twelth Division building that the shinigami and other quincy were in. She was desperate now to join them in the coming battles, her drive to fight once more restored. She took one step, then another, trying to push herself forward inch by inch, each movement causing her to lose blood. "Just... a little... further..."

Bambietta knew she could no doubt ask one of the shinigami for healing. That was not the worry. It was simply that she had to get to them. Yet Hirenkyaku was not an option, the quincy far too weak now to properly utilize it.

"Not... over..."

Bambietta suddenly sensed it, an outburst of power. She looked up quickly and could see a beam of light firing up into the heavens from the Twelth Division barracks. Then did it vanish from sight and Bambietta could feel it clearly, the power of those inside having faded from this plane of existence. She could only surmise that Momo Hinamori and the others had made their way to the Reiokyu. The quincy wished that she could be by their side for the final battle but she knew that was not to be. She had done her part for them all. Now it was their time to fight.

"End this... and stay alive."

Bambietta stood there, bleeding out as she was, her mind lost among the sea of thoughts dwelling within her. She knew where she had come from, that was clear as day, but where she was going was another matter altogether. The day had come, change inevitable. Either the Soul Society and its god would fall or the Wandenreich and its own deity. Bambietta knew where her loyalties were focused now, something she could not truly wrap her head around. Killed by quincy, saved by shinigami. However she had to wonder why she was so surprised.

"No infighting among... the Stern Ritter he said," Bambietta whispered under her breath, her lips curling in disgust, "so I killed underlings... behind his back... to calm myself down."

Bambietta could remember it well enough. Begging in horror as Giselle turned against her. Watching from the sidelines as Bazz-B attacked Candice during the battle with the war potential known as Ichigo Kurosaki. PePe Waccabrada attempting to take control of both Liltotto and Meninas for his own battles. Gremmy Thoumeaux very nearly obliterating everyone around in a fit of rage that rivaled her own. Yhwach betraying everyone under his command with the auschwalen, killing Robert Accutrone in the process. Bambietta's memories from her time as an undead soldier were muddled but she remembered well the madness that had gone on around her. The chaos of the battlefield and the insanity of Giselle's own personal actions towards her.

"We're all... monsters." Bambietta's face fell into her hands then, the quincy sobbing for a moment. Tears began to snake out between her fingers as her body convulsed, splashing down on the pavement below. For a minute it continued, her thoughts a cacophony of untouchable thoughts. Then did she slowly move her hands away from her face, raising her head higher until she could see nothing but the clear sky above. She breathed deeply for a moment, trying to compose herself. "I'm not a monster... Not anymore... I can't be, right?"

Then did Bambietta feel it, her mind growing dizzy, her body numb. She felt her legs beginning to give out on her, pain searing across her very being.

"I guess... the battle with that bastard took more out of me than I thought..." Bambietta's legs gave out from underneath her, the quincy falling to her knees. She fell forward then, the side of her face resting on the ground as the light began to fade from her eyes. "Momo... Doggy... Did I... Did I make my parents proud?"

Then did the quincy's eyes close, a serene expression etched across Bambietta Basterbine's still face. For now did the one who had begged for death not a day ago find solace in eternal rest. For now she had found a pleasing death that was its own reward.

* * *

"Hey, are you all right? Say something!"

Bambietta could hear it, a voice calling out to her through the darkness. Slowly did she open her eyes in response, finding a man before her. He was dressed in the garb of a shinigami, his violet hair pulled back into a ponytail of sorts. Remembering where she had fallen, Bambietta had to guess he was a member of the Twelth Division.

"I'm... fine." Bambietta could see the man's expression change from worry to relief almost instantly. She glanced around and could see that she was propped up against the barracks. Looking down then, Bambietta could see that while her clothing was torn in places, the flesh was not, all her blood gone. Clearly this shinigami had found her and provided medical treatment. The green light that was fading from the his hands was a clear sign that a healing kido had been employed.

"Thank you," Bambietta said as she began to stand and dust off her black robes. "Uhmmm..."

"It's Iyasu," the shinigami interjected. "Iyasu Kiru."

Trying to play the part of a grateful shinigami, Bambietta tilted her head to the side slightly, a wide smile forming on her face as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Thank you, Iyasu Kiru!"

"Man, you don't have to lay it on so thick," the shinigami said as he glanced away, his face going red as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I was just doing my job. No way was I going to let another shinigami die because of one of those quincy pieces of shit."

Bambietta's forced smile quickly receded, her expression becoming melancholy as she gripped tightly to her left arm with the opposite hand. "You really hate them, huh?"

"Don't you?" Iyasu asked as he pointed towards the world around them, the damage from the two invasions evident. "Look what they did to us! They killed as many of us as they could, even Captain Commander Yamamoto! Everything would be better off if they had never existed!"

Bambietta could see the irony of the situation. No doubt the only reason this man had healed her was because of the clothes she had taken from one of the dead. Still she spoke up, trying to approach this situation as best she could. "Perhaps they despise us just as badly as you hate them?"

"What, over the extermination from a thousand years ago?" Iyasu asked as he shook his head. "They deserved that and so much more. I mean, they're unnatural. They throw the balance of life and death out of sync."

Bambietta's eyes widened at that statement, completely unprepared for such an accusation. "What are you talking about?"

"Seriously, did that quincy trash knock a few of your screws loose? A shinigami purifies a hollow, but those pieces of crap wipe them out of existence and throw everything out of balance. They had to die for the sake of the worlds."

Bambietta felt her breath seize up on her for a moment as she leaned back against the wall of the barracks beside her. She could not comprehend what she had just heard. Yhwach and Haschwalth had never mentioned any of that to her or the other members of the Wandenreich. Had her parents even known? Was it something the quincy had been ignorant to all their lives just as she had been?

"Hey, you all right?" Iyasu asked, his angered expression fading away due to simple concern for a fellow shinigami. "You still need more healing?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Bambietta shook her head, trying to compose herself in the process. "I was just a little dizzy still, that's all."

"That damn quincy did a number on you, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"Captain Kurotsuchi had the right idea, no doubt about it." Iyasu turned away from Bambietta. "Of course he really just wanted to experiment on the quincy but hey, it gave us a chance to find and exterminate a bunch of the garbage in hiding."

"What?" Bambietta's eyes narrowed a bit, recalling quite well the captain he spoke of. It was the very one who had been responsible for her returning to a living state. "He did what?"

"Oh yeah, my bad," Iyasu replied as he flashed a sly smile over his shoulder at Bambietta. "That's been our division's little secret. But I guess after all this grief we've suffered, it won't hurt to let someone from another division know about it. I doubt the Gotei Thirteen or Central Forty-Six are going to shed any tears over some quincy deaths after the last couple of days."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, the Twelth Division did a little extermination of our own, seeking out any quincy still hiding among the living. Man, I remember that there was this one town that was just full of the little shits. What was the name of that hellhole again? Flora, fauna-"

Bambietta's mind snapped to complete attention then. "Fioritura."

"Yeah, that's it!" Iyasu said, snapping his fingers in response. "What, did your division send you there for a mission or something?"

"No." Bambietta began to breath in and out at an alarming rate, her mind consumed by a storm of confusion mingled with anger. "There's nothing there to protect. It's been a ghost town for over a decade."

"Cool, cool." Iyasu shrugged his shoulders. "It's better off that way. Nothing but quincy in that backwoods village. Hell, I still remember that one guy and his wife who were trying to fight me and my buddy off, like they had anything worth saving." Iyasu's face suddenly lit up, a cruel smile adorning it, one that unnerved Bambietta. "It's just a shame we never found that rotten brat of theirs. No doubt Captain Kurotsuchi could have had a field day experimenting on a corpse so young!"

Bambietta could not fathom what she was hearing. She was staring into the eyes of a man she had hated her entire natural life. She had not known his name or his true face and yet, in this very moment, she had learned them both. She began to laugh a little then, her shoulders rising and falling with each one. A low whisper slipped out alongside a deliberate and paused breath. "He already has."

Iyasu's brow furrowed then, unsure of what had come over his healed ally or even what she had tried to say. "Huh?"

Bambietta, meanwhile, was completely overwhelmed and lost in thought. The man who had brought her back from the brink had been the very same one to have issued the order for her parents' death. She could only imagine then what cruel experiments he had performed on their remains. Yet still she owed him her life now. Bambietta shook her head, knowing that was not the truth. He had been intent on killing her afterwards. It was Momo Hinamori and her captain that she owed her continued existence to. Yet still, this monster before her, this shinigami known as Iyasu Kiru, he had healed her now but it was by his hands that her parents had died once upon a time.

Quincy betraying her, shinigami saving her, those who had destroyed her life bringing it back; it was all too much for Bambietta to process. This time she spoke not with a hoarse whisper. Her voice cracked then, a shrill cry escaping her lips alongside her ragged laughter. "Life's just one fucking demented joke, isn't it? Yes! Yes, it is! This whole world is a fucking sham!"

Her reiryoku at its maximum again, Bambietta allowed herself to become enveloped in light. When it faded she stood before Iyasu and in her full glory. Her vollstandig wings spread out to the sides, her halo of pure light hovering atop her head once more.

Iyasu simply stood before Bambietta, his sword hand resting atop the handle of his sheathed zanpakuto. "You're a quincy?"

"As were my parents," Bambietta answered, her eyes wavering, her lips trembling before at last she screamed again. "And so were all the rest of my family and friends who called Fioritura home!"

Iyasu said nothing, instead simply preferring to draw his katana. "Rend, Yosho-"

The release command to initiate the blade's shikai was never completed. An orb of power slipping away from Bambietta, the shinigami's body simply and quickly detonating into a fine red mist. The quincy stood there and watched the blood and tattered remains fall to the ground without a word. She had felt pure rage upon her transformation, then maddened sorrow, but now she was oddly calm. It was the same feeling she had experienced each and every time she had dispatched a quincy in a moment of need.

She stood there for a moment, her thoughts uncontrolled. Her inherent rage was calling to her, demanding she level the entire Soul Society to nothing more than ash. It was what the shinigami deserved, what they had coming for the actions they had been responsible for. Then, assuming they survived the battles in the Reiokyu, those who had betrayed her trust would be next to die most unpleasantly.

Bambietta's body began to shake, her teeth gritting together. She threw her head back then, a scream escaping from her lungs. The quincy dropped to her knees, the palms of her hands planting firmly in the ground before her as she forced herself to breath in and out, her whole body continuing to convulse.

"I'm a monster, I'm a monster..."

Once more did the quincy's thoughts flare up with words of the past. Not of those who loved her, not even in a twisted way. There was no sympathy, no compassion, no warmth to be found in her memories this particular moment.

_"All you are is an emotional time bomb, nothing more."_

Bambietta could see it then, tears dropping down and staining the ground before her. She had not even felt the water forming at the edges of her eyes, so lost in the swirling void of darkness that was consuming her heart. She leaned forward then, very nearly burying her face into the ground as she sobbed uncontrollably.

_"Awwww, she looks so happy when she's dead..."_

Bambietta suddenly hissed, her teeth gritting as her lips curled back. Her gloved fingers began to tear across the smooth pavement. Slowly did she rise, her face quaking not with despair but fury.

"I'm a monster... She's a monster... We're all... monsters..."

Bambietta began to rise to her full height, having once more found the place between anger and a twisted sort of peace. Her vollstandig faded, leaving her without wings or a halo. The quincy raised an arm forward, her fingers splaying outwards. A portal opened before her, one forged in shadow. She stared at it, realizing that no matter what she did, darkness was all that awaited her in the end.

She could not stay here in the Soul Society, not in a place known far and wide as a court of pure souls. Bambietta could not allow herself to wait here, to greet Momo or Komamura upon their return. Bambietta stepped towards the shadows then, stopping only when she glanced down then, taking note of the discarded weapon of the deceased shinigami who had been known as Iyasu Kiru.

It was a zanpakuto fit for a murderer, a killer, that much was certain in Bambietta's mind. To her that man had been nothing more than a monster, the one that had haunted the corners of her heart and soul for so very long. Was it not then the ideal weapon for one who considered themself a monster of a different sort? Bambietta knelt then and reached out, touching the zanpakuto. Though she could not feel the spirit within, knowing that it had perished alongside its soulmate of a wielder, Bambietta knew this blade still contained power. It was a strength she would no doubt need if her parents' murderer had spoken the truth.

Hesitation clawing at her heart, Bambietta fought against it and slowly wrapped her fingers around the sheath. Then did she stand, the zanpakuto by her side. She stared at the portal to realms outside the shinigamis' judgment. The quincy knew full well that she had enough to offer herself.

"Momo, Doggy," the quincy said softly, sniffing back slightly as she stepped into the shadows, finding herself unable to spare another glance back, "forget we ever met."

Then did the portal close, leaving Bambietta alone in the darkness of an uncertain future.


	5. There Once Was a Girl

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.**

* * *

Time marched on, years having rolled by, and much had changed in the mortal world. Yet tucked away in a small corner of the world was simply a sign of renewal and rebirth.

Once there had been a quaint but charming town known as Fioritura. It had been home to many for hundreds of years but in the end it had been ravaged and pillaged by outsiders, left as nothing more than a burning ruin. Now, however, was the countryside dotted with homes. Where once had nothing but smoldering husks stood, a sign of deep-rooted corruption, now stood a bustling town that was a haven for those who sought a simple life.

Bernadetta Yannicelli was one such resident of Fioritura, too young to know of the town's past, only that it was the place she had known as her home since her birth not a decade earlier.

On this day had the young girl had slipped out of her home in the early hours of the morning, her parents still fast asleep. She had known that she should have woken them and asked if she could go visit someone she loved dearly but Bernadetta had felt in her heart that there was nothing to worry about. Like all children she had considered her home a place of peace, nothing more, nothing less.

Now, however, far from the cobblestone and brick buildings, Bernadetta was running through the long grass, tears streaming down her face. For now she understood that the tranquility of her home could be disrupted by a solitary force if it so chose.

Now Bernadetta knew true fear.

"Yes!" she heard a voice cry out from behind her, heavy footsteps tearing through the long grass behind her. "I love the thrill of the hunt! Run, kid! Run!"

Bernadetta did just that, not willing or able to so much as glance over her shoulder. She knew full well what the monster that was pursuing her looked like. Tall and gaunt, dark blue skin broken up by red markings, a tail hanging from its lower back. Yet it had been the stark white mask that the beast wore that had truly left Bernadetta wreathed in both terror and panic. It was inhuman in shape, crimson lights of death nestled within its sockets.

Bernadetta was unsure how but she had felt the creature's presence on the town road, the hair standing on end when it had approached. To the young girl in question it had made no sense, leaving her to cry and scream now, begging for salvation.

"Somebody!" she shouted, her legs at last giving out on her "Please help me!"

Bernadetta stumbled forward then, having lost her balance, and landed in a grassy knoll. She glanced over her shoulder in fear, seeing the monster slowly approaching still.

"That's it?" the beast asked, tilting its head slightly as its glowing eyes stared intently at Bernadetta. "How... unfortunate."

The monster began to lower itself then, crouching forward as its knees bent. It reached out with one of its hands as it approached, a talon pressing lightly against Bernadetta's face, directly beneath her right eye.

"Let's hear a scream."

Bernadetta closed her eyes then, the child unwilling to let her last moments be spent staring at such a cruel monster. She flooded her thoughts with those who cared for her and those she loved with all her heart and soul. One in particular came to mind then, leaving Bernadetta to wish she could have seen that person one last time.

She did not give the monster the satisfaction of a scream, Bernadetta instead strugging to find the courage to so much as speak the name of the one she adored. However, fear left her voice to fail her. "Ba- Bam- Ba-"

"What's that?" the monster hissed. "Speak up, kid! I can't hear you!"

Then there was a scream. It was not Bernadetta's, however. No, it was a shriek that very nearly pierced the heavens themself, an inhuman roar of agony.

The scream belonged to the monster itself.

Bernadetta forced herself to open her eyes and could see the monster creeping away from her. It was clutching at its shoulder, strange liquid bubbling forth as an arrow of blue light slowly faded away and left the wound to remain as it was.

"Just who the hell are you?" the monster roared, its eyes glancing up and over Bernadetta.

Bernadetta glanced over her shoulder then and saw to whom the beast had spoken to. There not ten feet away was a horse as white as snow. Sitting atop the steed was an individual, a woman, wrapped in a white cloak, a hood obscuring her face in shadow.

Despite the eerie sight, Bernadetta could sense peace radiating from the individual. She smiled slightly then, watching as the rider dismounted from the horse and began to walk forward.

"Fioritura is no place for hollows." The cloaked individual reached forward with her left arm, a sheathed blade grasped tightly by her gloved hand. The scabbard was held horizontally before the figure, her other hand reaching out to take hold of the blade's hilt.

The hollow recognized the blade well, a trace amount of fear paralyzing its body and mind. "A shinigami?"

"No." The figure remained unmoving, holding the sheathed blade before her still. "Mine is a lineage that offers nothing but destruction for your kind. Count yourself fortunate that this is not my blade."

The hollow moved forward then, rage overwhelming its sense of sanity. It lunged for the young girl, intent on using her for a hostage. Yet all the while it kept an eye on the hooded individual, ready for any move she might make.

Yet when the person disappeared completely from sight was the monster left bewildered. Then did the cloaked individual appear as if from thin air, standing before Bernadetta, Her sudden movement having left the hollow in nothing but a state of shock.

Then, without another word, the hooded woman simply unsheathed her sword in less time than it took to blink an eye. The blade slashed across the hollow's mask, a scream echoing forth.

"What... are you?" the creature asked as it began to fade from view.

The cloaked individual offered nothing in return, simply watching as the hollow disintegrated, its reishi floating upwards to the sky.

Bernadetta watched as well, the young girl finding the sight oddly peaceful. Then did she return her gaze at the cloaked one before her, knowing what she had to do.

"Thank you," she said softly.

The hooded individual said nothing at first, simply sheathing the katana and withdrawing the weapon back into her cloak. Then did she motion towards her steed, the horse tentatively moving closer.

The woman turned around then and reached for her hood, pulling it down to over her shoulders. Long gray hair spilled out, an aged but serene face looking down at Bernadetta. "Hey, kiddo."

The young girl felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment, recognizing her savior in an instant. "Grandma Bambi?"

Bambietta knelt down then, helping her granddaughter to stand while never letting her stern expression falter. "Bernadetta, are you all right?"

"Yes, I..." Bernadetta began to cry then, the events she had just experienced at last catching up with her. "I was so scared!"

The young girl clutched at her grandmother's shoulder, sobbing against her cloak as she did so. Bambietta simply reached out with her right hand then, slowly moving it through Bernadetta s long dark hair.

"It's all right. Grandma will always be here for you; I promise." Bambietta let her granddaughter continue to quietly cry, holding her tight all the same. Then did the aged quincy speak again, her voice soft and comforting. "May I ask why you're out here by yourself?"

"I just wanted to see you!" Bernadetta cried out as she pulled away and looked up at her grandmother. "So I... kind of..."

"You didn't tell your parents where you were going?"

"Momma and Poppa were still asleep, so... no, I didn't."

Bambietta sighed then as she stood up. She slipped her hands underneath her granddaughter s arms and gently lifted Bernadetta up on to her horse's back. "Come on then, we better go let them know you're all right."

"Grandma Bambi?" Bernadetta said as the older woman stepped up on the horse as well. "Will you stay over for breakfast?"

Bambietta felt her granddaughter hold on to her torso tightly then, all the while the quincy holding the reigns of her steed. She commanded the horse to move forward then. "Yes, I suppose I could!"

"Yay!" was all Bernadetta could reply with them, her face carrying a wide smile, as if the unfortunate events with the hollow had never occurred.

Decades before had there been a young girl raised by loving parents. In fire and despair had she been reborn a monster, Stern Ritter E. The young girl had grown up then, allowing her emotions to darken her soul, just as Yhwach's blood had poisoned her own with cruelty. In the end had her choices led her to a fate worse than death, yet salvation had come to her under the strangest of forms. The years had rolled on, confusion and sorrow shifting and transforming. The once young girl had grown old, yet she felt nothing but true peace within her once troubled soul.

Bambietta herself smiled, glancing down at the future, at her granddaughter. "Let's go home."


End file.
